Background:Internet is one of the technologies of the modern era that is being extensively used around the world. It is believed that excessive Internet use can be pathological and addictive. Though, academic use of the Internet is primarily intended for learning and research, students are one of the groups at risk of Internet addiction. Objectives: Due to the expanding use of Internet among the university students, this study was conducted to examine the Internet addiction and its predictors among Guilan University of Medical Sciences students. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 583 students during the first semester of 2012. A two-stage stratified random sampling was conducted and a two-part instrument was used for data collection. The first part of the instrument was consisted of questions about demographic characteristics and the second part was the Young's Internet addiction inventory. Chisquare, Kruskal-Wallis testes, Spearman correlation coefficient and ranked logistic regression were used for data analysis. Results: About 5.7% of the students were moderately dependent to the Internet, while 44.1% were at risk for Internet addiction. Significant relationships were observed between the Internet addiction with age (P < 0.001), gender (P < 0.001), marital status (P < 0.001), major (P = 0.016), Grade point average (P = 0.017), semester of studying (P = 0.009) and student residence place (P = 0.014). However, no significant relationship was observed between the internet addiction score and level of discipline, parental job status and education level or the students' accommodation. Conclusion: About half of the participants in this study were at risk of Internet addiction. This finding can be a warning sign for the authorities in universities to pay more attention to this issue. A wide range of education along with empowering programs may be needed to inform the university students about the advantages and disadvantages of internet and the correct manner of using it.

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Dynamic behaviour of a slider–crank mechanism associated with a smart flexible connecting rod is investigated. Effect of various mechanisms' parameters including crank length, flexibility of the connecting rod and the slider's mass on the dynamic behaviour is studied. Two control schemes are proposed for elastodynamic vibration suppression of the flexible connecting rod and also obtaining a constant angular velocity for the crank. The first scheme is based on feedback linearization approach and the second one is based on a sliding mode controller. The input signals are applied by an electric motor located at the crank ground joint, and two layers of piezoelectric film bonded to the top and bottom surfaces of the connecting rod. Both of the controllers successfully suppress the vibrations of the elastic linkage. Highlights Dynamic behaviour of a slider–crank mechanism associated with a smart flexible connecting rod is investigated. Effect of various mechanisms' parameters including crank length, flexibility of the connecting rod and the slider's mass on the dynamic behaviour is studied. Two control schemes are proposed for elastodynamic vibration suppression of the flexible connecting rod and also obtaining a constant angular velocity for the crank. Controllers are based on feedback linearization approach and sliding mode controller.

Purpose This study evaluates the efficiency and productivity change of 39 electricity distribution companies in Iran over the period 2005-2014. For purposes of electricity management and utilization of scarce resources, Iran’s 33 provinces have been classified into five regions by the Ministry of the Interior. Analyzing the efficiency of distribution companies across these regions yields significant understanding of these resources and helps policymakers to generate more informed decisions. Design/methodology/approach The proposed method of this study develops nonparametric data envelopment analysis (DEA) with the consideration of geographic classification, size and type of company. At the first stage, a DEA model is used to estimate the relative technical efficiency and productivity change of these companies. At the second stage, distributions of efficiency improvements are examined based on geographic classification, size and type of the company type. A stability test is also conducted to verify the proposed model’s robustness. Findings The results demonstrate that the average technical efficiency of the companies increased during the years 2006-2009, but decreased during 2010-2014. The productivity measurement reveals that low efficiency change was the largest contributor to the small increase in productivity change rather than technology change. In addition, testing the hypothesis that the large and small companies have statistically the same efficiency scores revealed no statistical difference among them. Moreover, another test did not detect a difference among companies at the urban and provincial levels. Practical implications By applying this approach, policymakers and practitioners in the power industry at the country and corporate level can effectively compare the efficiency and productivity changes among electricity distribution companies, and therefore generate more informed decisions. Originality/value The paper’s novel concept applies DEA to Iran’s electricity distribution companies and analyzes them by examining geographic classification, size and the type of the companies. In addition, a stability test is conducted and productivity changes are estimated.