E-waste is a complex stream of toxic waste which requires specific handling considerations. Effective and responsible management of E-waste is a global concern today. Considering the depth of the E-waste problem, this paper is an attempt to review two key elements greatly accountable for influencing sustainable E-waste management initiatives: Consumers’ E-waste 1) ‘Disposal Behaviour’ and 2) ‘Awareness’. Taking into account the locale specific characteristics of consumers’ E-waste disposal behaviour and awareness, we have attempted to perform an extensive review on the global context and identify the measures adopted by the consumers of different countries to dispose off their E-waste. We observe significant differences in consumers’ E-waste disposal behaviour not only ‘between’ the developed and developing countries, but also ‘within’ these countries. The paper further especially explains the complexities in India’s E-waste management system due to its multifaceted socio-economic, cultural and other associated connotations influencing consumers’ disposal behaviour and awareness. We conclude that global experiences on consumers’ E-waste disposal behaviour and awareness could be helpful for a particular country to devise inclusive E-waste management strategies to adequately address their current E-waste crisis.

Emerging trends in consumers’ E-waste disposal behaviour and awareness: A worldwide overview with special focus on India

Introduction: Mobile technology is changing the way we live, and it is beginning to change the way we learn. Current literature reviews have shown that research on mobile technology in medical education primarily focused on efficacy, of mobile devices as an educational tool and resource, infrastructure to support m-learning, benefits, challenges, and appropriate use. Objectives: To assess the perception of medical student for the utility of mobile technology in their learning experience and to find out different barriers in the application of mobile phone in medical education. Materials and Methods: The study was designed as a descriptive study to assess emerging patterns of mobile technology use by medical students across the academic year 2013-2014. Interview and focus group discussion was a method of data collection. Results: Mean age ± standard deviation of the current mobile was 3.45 ± 1.45 years. Mobile users were 302 (96.79%) and Smartphone users were 261 (83.61%). In the present study, 176 (56.41%) used for the academic purpose and 65 (20.83%) of the students preferred the same for an entertainment purpose. Gender-wise significant difference was observed in regards to Smartphone availability and daily Internet use for education purpose by female was more than male. Conclusion: The lessons learned from this study are-majority of the students use Smartphone mainly for communication, learning, and entertainment purpose. With increasing use of portable devices by students, it is logical to expect the next step to incorporate these devices in the learning environment and should, therefore, be appropriately considered for curriculum.

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Perception of medical students for utility of mobile technology use in medical education

Luxurious inventions available in the market such as portable mobile phone have proved to be a boon in the lives of many individuals.1 Earlier mobile phone being costly was not used by masses, but due to advances in electronic technology it is has become relatively inexpensive and readily available to innumerable individuals. This easy to use device nowadays offer advanced computing capabilities and holds an important place in the day to day life.2

Nomophobia: A Study to Evaluate Mobile Phone Dependence and Impact of Cell Phone on Health -

Background: Nomophobia literally means ‘no mobile phobia’ that is the fear of being out of mobile phone contact. People experience symptoms of withdrawal when they are away from mobile phones. To address this problem and create awareness among medical students the present study was planned. Objectives of this study were 1)To assess prevalence of nomophobia among medical students 2) To assess pattern of mobile phone usage. 3) To know health related consequences of nomophobia Methods: This college based cross sectional study was conducted among undergraduate medical students of SRTR Government Medical College, Ambajogai. All undergraduate students from 1st MBBS to final MBBS were enrolled in the study. Data was collected from a total of 346 medical students with a predesigned pretested questionnaire. “test of mobile phone dependence” (TMD Brief) was used to assess nomophobia. TMD brief scale was designed and validated by Choliz et al. According to scores, medical students scoring 30-60 were labeled as having nomophobia. Data was analyzed using Epi info 7 Software. Results: The prevalence of nomophobia was 71.39%, which was more among males (73%) compared to females (69.94%). ‘Disturbance of sleep’ (41.33%) was most common symptom experienced due to mobile phone dependence. Study participants belonging to nuclear family, 3rd year MBBS batch, age group of 20-22 years and students spending Rs. >400/month on mobile phones were significantly associated with nomophobia. Conclusions: The present study has reported prevalence of nomophobia as 71.39% among undergraduate medical students which is very high. Now a day’s nomophobia is an alarming issue and it should be addressed on priority basis.

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Nomophobia - mobile phone dependence, a study among students of a rural medical college

Objective: Mobile phone usage has reached all ages across all segments of society, and its radiofrequency waves are an increasing concern among the general population. To find out the pattern of mobile phone usage among undergraduate medical students and their perceived symptoms and awareness about negative health effects due to their exposure to the radiofrequency waves. Methods: A descriptive type of epidemiological study was conducted among 295 undergraduate medical students in the Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, Kolkata, in August 2012 after obtaining Institutional Ethical Clearance. Data were collected by a pre-designed and pre-tested, semi structured questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS software, version 19.0. Results: Among the 1st semester students, browsing of the internet became the predominant activity; while listening to music and radio was the preferred activity among the 3rd, 5th and 7th semester students. In lecture class, 1st semester students (62.5%) switch off; 40.6% of 5th semester students receive and 63.63% of 7th semester students keep the phone in silence mode. Duration of mobile phone usage was maximum among students who perceived headache as a side effect of usage. About 62.3% study subjects cited accidents as a harmful effect, followed by lack of concentration. Conclusions: Regulatory bodies should lay down specific regulations and guidelines regarding mobile phone usage in class as well as during patient care. Further research is needed to comment on long term health outcome keeping in view its usage and popularity among younger people. Keywords: Mobile phone use, medical students, hazard awareness

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Mobile phone usage pattern among undergraduate medical students at a Medical College of Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Context: Our country India is having 919.17 million cell phone users; currently this is the second largest number of cell phone users after China. The youth spend a good amount on talk time and purchasing cell phone handsets. Discarding of cell phone is another issue which needs attention because of generation of e-wastes, which leads to environmental pollution.

Aim: To assess economic burden and practice of cell phone disposal among medical students.

Methodology: It is a cross-sectional study where self filled questionnaire were given to randomly chosen students.

Results: Out of total 311 participants, 133 were males and 178 were females. Mean monthly expenditure of students was Rs. 2787. Out of 311 students only 2 (0.64%) boys were not using cell phones. It was observed that boys are more inclined towards cell phone than girls, as number of previous handsets, money spent on buying handsets and therefore average monthly costs of handsets were significantly higher among boys than girls. Most common reason for frequent changing of handsets was that they were outdated (46.14%). 47.13% of handsets were disposed by exchanging or giving to somebody for use, but 36.57% of handsets were lying waste or thrown away.

Conclusion: As noticed that a good amount of money was spent on cell phones, students and parents should be counseled regarding cost effective use of cell phone. An effort should be made to dispose off handset in environment friendly way, which can be done by creating awareness about collection centers and strengthening collection chain.

Mittal Anuj

Papers

A Study to Assess Economic Burden and Practice of Cell Phone Disposal among Medical Students