Total mercury (THg), methylmercury (MeHg), and selenium (Se) concentrations were measured in various commercially important fish species. The benefit–risk binomial associated with these chemicals was assessed in children through the probability of exceeding the provisional tolerable weekly intakes (PTWIs) of the contaminants and the Se recommended dietary allowance (RDA). The Se:Hg molar ratios, selenium health benefit values (HBVSe), and monthly consumption rate limits (CRmm) for each species were also calculated. THg and Se were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Shimadzu, Milan, Italy), while MeHg was determined by Trace Ultra gas chromatograph connected with a PolarisQ MS (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA). None of the analyzed fish had Hg levels above the European Community regulatory limits, while most large predators had MeHg levels over the threshold concentration set by US EPA. The estimated weekly intakes of THg and MeHg exceeded in many cases the PTWIs and the Se estimated daily intakes were provided from 0.71% to 2.75% of the RDA. Se:Hg molar ratios above 1 and positive HBVSe index suggested that Se in fish could be enough to alleviate the potential toxic effect of Hg. However, high-risk groups as children should consume fish in moderation because a large consumption pattern, especially of swordfish and tunas, might be of concern for health.
Grazia Barone, Arianna Storelli, Daniela Meleleo et al.
The paper examines parental control of online content for children in Nairobi. Using a descriptive research design, data was collected from 100 respondents in churches, neighborhoods, and school WhatsApp groups. Interviews were conducted with 8 key informants drawn from civil society and parental organisations. Findings reveal frequent social media use by both parents and children, with many parents struggling to utilize parental control tools effectively, highlighting a need for training. Urban children often outpace their parents in tech skills, while rural parents remain less aware of internet risks. Stakeholders are actively educating parents, but stricter online registration processes and targeted awareness programs are crucial. The paper recommends government-led campaigns and school-based initiatives to enhance digital literacy and safety.
This paper provides a synthesis of the literature on and recent trends in new technologies and its effect on 21st century children (0-18 years old). It begins by providing an overview of recent trends in the access and use of new technologies as well as a summary of online opportunities and risks. It then explores a variety of factors, including economic, social and cultural status which underlie these trends and lead to online and offline inequalities. Building digital resilience is an important skill for 21st century children. Effective strategies to accomplish this include encouragement of active rather than passive Internet use, e-safety in the school curriculum, and teacher and parental Information and Communication Technology (ICT) support. A focus on younger children (primary school or younger) and the effects of new emerging technologies would be helpful for future research.
Online technologies are an integral part of many children's lives. In 2017, the Children's Commissioner for England identified shortcomings in online safety education and a number of stakeholders have called for action to increase 'digital literacy' in the UK. Upcoming changes to the curriculum mean that aspects of online safety will be taught in all schools from 2020. This POSTnote gives an overview of how children use the internet and the opportunities and risks it presents. It provides an overview of current online safety teaching in schools and elsewhere and how this will be affected by changes in the curriculum. It also looks at the role of content filtering and age verification technologies to improve online safety.
Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, Dugald Hepburn, Lorna Christie
Cybersecurity for children has received much attention and has become a rapidly growing topic due to the increased availability of the internet to children and their consequent exposure to various online risks. This paper aims to summarize the current findings on cybersecurity awareness research for children and help guide future studies. We have performed a systematic literature review on cybersecurity awareness for children, analyzing 56 peer-reviewed studies that report in depth on various cybersecurity risks and awareness-raising approaches. The results of this review include a list of cybersecurity risks for children, a list of commonly used approaches and theories for raising cybersecurity awareness among children, and a list of factors that researchers have considered when evaluating cybersecurity awareness approaches and solutions.
Farzana Quayyum, Daniela S. Cruzes, Letizia Jaccheri
Road safety awareness is one of the many awareness programs that are often highlighted and discussed around the world. The road accident statistics are increased due to the lack of exposure and awareness among communities about traffic environments and rules. Children are one of the most vulnerable populations involved in traffic accidents. The children are unable to familiarize themselves with the surroundings, especially when crossing the road. This research attempts to improve road-safety awareness among children by using computer games as a learning tool. Specifically, it determines the progress of knowledge on the road rules and conditions after the children using the tool. The computer online game is suitable methods to use for teaching them on road safety due to interactive application always intimate the children. Besides the survey questions that related to road traffic rules, we also measures the attitude towards road safety in the participant (i.e., children and adult). Descriptive analysis in frequency, mean, and percentage are used to describe the respondent’s information. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) is used to analyze the findings. The overall findings show that all respondents have positive feedback on online games as a road safety tool. Interestingly, the significant output shows on the different knowledge about road safety when the children are analyzed for before and after they played the games. The future research is suggested to study the other group of participant as the respondent in this work is limited to the primary school children. It can be improved by involving the large sample size and wider location.
Parenting no longer includes just preparing our children for the real world. You now have to prepare them for the online world. More specifically, you ...
Children are spending increasing amounts of time online prompting practitioners and parents to raise concerns about their online safety. However, the impact of children’s subjective versus objective knowledge on their perceived online safety and attitudes towards e-safety education remain unclear. Questionnaires were used to assess children’s (N = 329, aged 8–11 years) perceived online safety, subjective and objective knowledge of online safety/dangers, and attitudes to e-safety education. While participants generally reported feeling safe online and perceived that they had a good awareness of online dangers and how to avoid them (subjective knowledge), they tended to be poor at articulating for themselves exactly what those dangers were and how they personally could elude them (objective knowledge). This was especially true of boys and younger children. Moreover, only subjective knowledge of online safety/dangers significantly predicted perceived online safety. Together, these findings suggest that some children may think that they know how to stay safe online but lack – or at least be unable to articulate – objective knowledge that could actually keep them safe. Consequently, there is a need to assess children’s objective knowledge of online safety/dangers and to provide appropriate education for children who currently lack it.
Peter J. R. Macaulay, Michael John Boulton, Lucy R. Betts et al.
Children are an important element of the community; they represent the hope of a bright future. The safety of our children is priceless. Nowadays children are using the internet on a daily basis for many reasons; playing online games, social media or even for doing their school works. The internet takes a huge part of their times and unfortunately, most of these children are not aware of online risks and how they should respond properly to online risks. Moreover, children may have unlimited access to the internet without any control or supervision. The cybercrimes are increasing year after a year and the government of UAE considers the safety of the citizens as one of the most priorities to achieve. As the safety of our children is a priority, the Ministry of Education in UAE provided a cyber security awareness program for children in order to raise their security awareness level about online risks and online best practices. The objective of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of the cyber security awareness program offered by the Ministry of Education in UAE to students aged 8 to 10 years old. This research paper methodology based on qualitative methods for collecting data in which data were collected from interviews conducted with both the trainers of the program and students who attended the program. It was found that the children may expose to different online risks and the topics included in the cyber security awareness program were effective and aligned along with possible online risks children may expose to. Both the trainers and the students agreed on the efficiency of the cyber security awareness program and students believed that the awareness program influenced their online behavior. Although the interviews provided valuable findings, the real effectiveness of the cyber security awareness program hard to be measured as it depends on how students will behave online.
