Precursors of adolescents’ use of visual and audio devices during online communication

Theories of computer-mediated communication typically rest upon the assumption that communication via computers lacks visual and auditory cues. However, recent technological advances, such as webcams and microphones, as well as their increased use question this assumption. Moreover, the question arises of what characterizes individuals who use such devices. Drawing on a survey of 1060 adolescents, we found that 57% of adolescents at least occasionally used webcams during instant messaging, while 32% at least sometimes used microphones. If adolescents perceived the lack of visual cues in online communication to be important, they used webcams less frequently. For early and middle adolescents, greater levels of social anxiety reduced the use of webcams, whereas higher levels of private self-consciousness increased it. Our results suggest that the nature of computer-mediated communication may change considerably in the next years. Theories of computer-mediated communication need to more strongly integrate these changes into theory building.     

A comparison of bibliotherapy and group therapy in the treatment of panic disorder.

Investigated 2 methods of disseminating a cognitive-behavioral intervention for panic disorder (PD). 36 Ss who met diagnostic criteria for PD were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: bibliotherapy (BT), group therapy (GT), or a waiting-list control (WL) condition. Results show that both the BT and GT treatments were more effective than the WL condition in reducing frequency of panic attacks, severity of physical panic symptoms, catastrophic cognitions, agoraphobic avoidance, and depression and that the BT and GT treatments were more effective in increasing self-efficacy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using biological inspiration to engineer functional nanostructured materials

Humans have always looked to nature for design inspiration, and material design on the molecular level is no different. Here we explore how this idea applies to nanoscale biomimicry, specifically examining both recent advances and our own work on engineering lipid and polymer membrane systems with cellular processes.     

Ascites, pleural, and pericardial effusions in acute pancreatitis. A prospective study of incidence, natural history, and prognostic role

Ascites and pleural and pericardial effusions can be observed during acute pancreatitis. The aims of this study were to evaluate their incidence, natural history, and prognostic role in patients with acute pancreatitis. One hundred patients consecutively admitted with a diagnosis of acute pancreatitis were prospectively submitted to abdominal, pleural, and cardiac ultrasonography at admission and during follow-up. Ascites was found in 18 patients, pleural effusion in 20, and pericardial effusion in 17. Twenty-four patients of this series had severe pancreatitis; three of them died. All effusions disappeared spontaneously in patients who survived pancreatitis up to two months after dismissal. At multivariate analysis ascites and pleural effusion were demonstrated to be accurate independent predictors of severity. The respective odds ratios were 5.9 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.5-23.0%) and 8.6 (95% CI, 2.3-32.5%). Furthermore the presence of pleural effusion, ascites, and pericardial effusion were associated with an increased incidence of pseudocyst during follow-up. Ascites and pleural and pericardial effusions are frequent during acute pancreatitis. Pleural effusion and ascites are accurate predictors of severity in these patients.     

Practice makes perfect: The longitudinal effect of adolescents’ instant messaging on their ability to initiate offline friendships

The first aim of this study was to investigate whether instant messaging (IM) influences adolescents’ ability to initiate offline friendships. The second aim was to study the validity of two underlying mechanisms that may account for this relationship: (a) the opportunities offered by IM to communicate with a variety of people, and (b) to disclose intimate information. A three-wave longitudinal study was conducted among 690 Dutch adolescents (10–17 years old). Results show that adolescents’ IM use increased their ability to initiate offline friendships over time. Furthermore, IM use indirectly increased adolescents’ ability to initiate offline friendships through the diversity of their online communication partners. These findings suggest that adolescents can practice social skills online and learn to relate to a variety of people, which, over time, may increase their ability to initiate offline friendships.     

Programming Rational Agents in a Modal Action Logic

In this paper we describe a language for reasoning about actions that can be used for modelling and for programming rational agents. We propose a modal approach for reasoning about dynamic domains in a logic programming setting. Agent behavior is specified by means of complex actions which are defined using modal inclusion axioms. The language is able to handle knowledge producing actions as well as actions which remove information. The problem of reasoning about complex actions with incomplete knowledge is tackled and the temporal projection and planning problems is addressed; more specifically, a goal directed proof procedure is defined, which allows agents to reason about complex actions and to generate conditional plans. We give a non-monotonic solution for the frame problem by making use of persistency assumptions in the context of an abductive characterization. The language has been used for implementing an adaptive web-based system.     

Adolescents' Exposure to Sexually Explicit Online Material and Recreational Attitudes Toward Sex

Previous research has largely ignored the implications of adolescents' exposure to sexually explicit online material for their sexual attitude formation. To study whether adolescents' exposure to sexually explicit material on the Internet is related to recreational attitudes toward sex, we conducted an online survey among 471 Dutch adolescents aged 13–18. In line with an orientation 1 – stimulus – orientation 2 – response (O₁-S-O₂-R) model, we found a pattern of multiple mediated relationships. Male adolescents (O₁) used sexually explicit online material (S) more than female adolescents, which led to a greater perceived realism of such material (O₂). Perceived realism (O₂), in turn, mediated the relationship between exposure to sexually explicit online material (S) and recreational attitudes toward sex (R). Exposure to sexually explicit online material, then, is related to more recreational attitudes toward sex, but this relationship is influenced by adolescents' gender and mediated by the extent to which they perceive online sexual material as realistic.     

Voucher-based incentives for cigarette smoking reduction in a women's residential treatment program.

Participants were women (N = 16) living with their children in a residential substance abuse treatment facility. In this within-subjects repeated measures study, a 1-week baseline was followed by a 4-week intervention and a 2-week follow-up (same as the baseline). The intervention consisted of exposure to an educational video and a smoking cessation workbook, brief individual support meetings, and an escalating schedule of voucher-based reinforcement of abstinence. Throughout the study, three daily breath samples (8 a.m., noon, and 4 p.m.) were collected Monday through Friday to determine carbon monoxide (CO) concentration. In addition, urine cotinine (COT) was assessed on Monday mornings to monitor weekend tobacco use. Participants received vouchers of escalating value for CO-negative breath and COT-negative urine samples. Positive samples reset the voucher value. Significantly more negative tests were submitted during the intervention than during baseline and follow-up. The intensive behavioral intervention evaluated in this study produced a substantial reduction in cigarette smoking, and 25% of participants remained abstinent 2 weeks after the intervention was suspended. Nevertheless, the percentage of CO-negative samples submitted during the follow-up returned to baseline levels. While retaining many real-world characteristics, residential treatment facilities provide important opportunities for smoking cessation treatment and research.     

Using Simulation to Teach Negotiation Processes to Environmental Engineers

This paper reports on a simulation exercise used to teach engineers about negotiation in the context of hazardous waste site cleanups. In contrast to traditional approaches, which emphasize technical aspects of hazardous waste management, our simulation approach emphasizes the influence that personality characteristics and negotiating styles have on outcomes in the site cleanup process. In addition to describing the site cleanup process and the simulation exercise, the paper discusses results of running the simulation in classes at Stanford University and the effectiveness of the simulation approach.