Is Cyberchondria a New Transdiagnostic Digital Compulsive Syndrome? A Systematic Review of the Evidence

© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).Background. Cyberchondria (CYB) has been described relatively recently as a behaviour characterized by excessive online searching for medical information that is associated with increasing levels of health anxiety. Although CYB has received some attention from researchers, there is no consensus about many of its aspects. Aims. We describe one of the first reported cases of a treatment-seeking patient with CYB. We review the published literature on the definition of CYB, its assessment, epidemiology, cost and burden, psychological models and mechanisms associated with CYB, relationships between CYB and mental disorders and prevention and treatment strategies. Methods: Systematic review of all peer-reviewed papers published within the PubMed, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Library databases. Results. 61 articles were selected. Nearly all the studies were descriptive and cross-sectional recruiting sample mainly from the general/university student population and collecting self-report data via online surveys. Data on epidemiology, clinical features, course, comorbidity and therapeutic interventions were scarce. CYB showed a self-reported association with health anxiety, hypochondriasis and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) as well as other forms of problematic usage of the internet (PUI) The psychological mechanisms associated with CYB include low self-esteem, anxiety sensitivity, intolerance of uncertainty, pain catastrophizing and certain meta-cognitive beliefs. Conclusion: A working definition of CYB includes excessive online health searches that are compulsive and may serve the purpose of seeking reassurance, whilst leading to a worsening of anxiety or distress and further negative consequences. CYB represents a clinically relevant transdiagnostic compulsive behavioural syndrome, closely related to PUI and usually presenting in association with health anxiety, hypochondriasis and/or OCD. CYB is clearly in need of further study and we identify key areas for future research.Peer reviewe

Dramaturgical and communicative validities in the classroom: developing a simulation exercise for undergraduate social science classes

AbstractMany simulations in higher education demonstrate a limited range of validity measures. Communicative and dramaturgical validities are often ignored in favour of normative validity. A case study of a week-long simulation with undergraduate social science students shows how knowledge combinations based on dramaturgical and communicative validities can initiate a research agenda for simulation development. in a dialectical relationship can be used to improve the development of simulations for the benefit of learning. Such dialectical relationships are drawn from experiential learning theory

Gamification in Ethics Education: A Literature Review

Ethical literacy plays a significant role in human beings’ decision-making, influencing the quality of interpersonal relationships, harmony, well-being, and the sustainable development of society, economy, and technology. Among various pedagogical techniques, gamification, simulations, roleplay, and other game-based approaches have been recognized as potential avenues for experience and interactive-based pedagogy for ethics education. Although there is a rapidly increasing number of studies on game-based learning, the effect of gamification on the success of ethics learning is still unclear. Therefore, by conducting a systematic review of the extant empirical literature (N=101), this study aims at exploring the state of the art of gamification in ethics education, considering research design, adopted theories, gamification interventions, dimensions of ethics learning and effects of gamification. The literature synthesis revealed a variety of utilizing gamification for ethics learning in different facets with mostly positive outcomes. Based on the discussion of the main findings, seven different directions for future research are further proposed

Gaming can be sustainable too! Using Social Representation Theory to examine the moderating effects of tourism diversification on residents' tax paying behavior

Tourism authorities in the Las Vegas region have suggested the diversification of the tourism industry as a strategy to improve the vitality of rural communities outside of the metropolitan area. The present study uses Social Representation Theory as the conceptual basis to test the moderating effects of the various types of proposed tourism development on residents' willingness to pay higher taxes to support such development. A survey of 301 residents in Las Vegas rural communities examined how the factors of economic dependence on tourism, community attachment, and ecocentric attitude towards tourism influence residents' perceptions of tourism's impacts. A higher economic dependence on tourism and higher levels of community attachment led to more favorable perceptions of tourism's economic and social impacts. The economic impacts, in turn, resulted in a willingness to pay higher taxes, irrespective of the type of tourism development proposed by the Las Vegas authorities. The results suggest that rural communities reinforce a hegemonic social representation of tourism in order to characterize the ethos of capitalist urbanism that pervades the economic development discourse. The residents' social construction of tourism has important implications for tourism planners in the region and suggests the adoption of an inclusive tourism diversification strategy that leverages both gaming and alternative tourism.This work was supported by the Southern Nevada Planning Coalition, Outside Las Vegas Foundation and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. (Southern Nevada Planning Coalition; Outside Las Vegas Foundation; Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

Regulation of Esports in the Context of the Employment in Indonesia

This study aims to understand and analyze the legal arrangements of esports in terms of the point of view of labor law. The research method used is legal research with a normative juridical approach. The research results obtained are first, in terms of legal substance, second, in terms of legal structure, and third, in terms of legal culture. The author reflects that in the substance of the law, there has not been a single piece of legislation that contains explicitly and comprehensively regarding esports. Then in the aspect of esports dispute resolution, that is, the phrase “final and binding” on the award of the settlement of violations by Executive Board of Esports Indonesia is biased. In addition, in terms of legal culture, the existence of esports in Indonesia has risen in all walks of life, players who are legal subjects in esports are dominated by underage players. This study concludes that the government needs to form a law that explicitly regulates esports activities in Indonesia, in the form of: 1) The rights of esports athletes, especially minors; 2) The legal position of the Executive Board of Esports Indonesia statute in the laws and regulations in Indonesia; 3) Rights and obligations of esports athletes

The Effects of Regulatory Orientation on Subjective Task Values, Ability Beliefs, and Gameplay in a Grammar Editing Computer Game

This study investigated mean group differences in composite subjective task values, ability beliefs, and gameplay behaviors between low promotion and high promotion English as a Second Language (ESL) postsecondary students while playing two versions of a grammar-editing computer game. First, students were categorized according to their scores on the General Regulatory Focus Measure. Next, students played two identical versions of the grammar-editing game; in the second game version, an independent variable was added in the form of an in-game punishment. In the middle of each game version, students completed a modified version of the Expectancy-value Questionnaire. Independent samples t-tests were conducted to determine any statistically significant group differences between groups in terms of subjective task values, ability beliefs, and gameplay behaviors. Results indicated no statistically significant differences between groups for any of the composite dependent variables tested. However, two individual items measuring utility and attainment value indicated significant group differences. The findings of this study both supported and contradicted aspects of regulatory orientation theory and previous regulatory orientation research. This research contributed to the need for motivation studies in the field of digital game-based learning utilizing well-established theoretical frameworks. In addition, this study offered researchers, teachers, instructional designers, and video game designers insights into the effects of regulatory orientations in the digital game-based learning context

Media Ecologies

In this chapter, we frame the media ecologies that contextualize the youth practices we describe in later chapters. By drawing from case studies that are delimited by locality, institutions, networked sites, and interest groups (see appendices), we have been able to map the contours of the varied social, technical, and cultural contexts that structure youth media engagement. This chapter introduces three genres of participation with new media that have emerged as overarching descriptive frameworks for understanding how youth new media practices are defi ned in relation and in opposition to one another. The genres of participation—hanging out, messing around, and geeking out—refl ect and are intertwined with young people’s practices, learning, and identity formation within these varied and dynamic media ecologies

Do CEOs Ever Lose? Fairness Perspective on the Allocation of Residuals Between CEOs and Shareholders

In this study we introduce a justice perspective to examining the result of bargaining between CEOs and boards over the allocation of firm residuals that ultimately determines CEO compensation. Framing CEO pay as the result of bargaining between CEOs and boards focuses attention on the power of CEOs to increase their share of firm residuals in the form of increased compensation, and the diligence of boards of directors to constrain CEO opportunism. Framing this negotiation through a theory of justice offers an alternative perspective to the search for pay-performance sensitivity. We predict and find that as board diligence in controlling opportunism declines and CEO power increases, CEOs are increasingly able to capture a larger portion of firm residuals relative to shareholders. This finding supports critics who charge that CEO pay violates norms of distributive and procedural justice