Consequences of Connection: Loneliness, Reading, and Robots

Modern communication technologies are reshaping the ways humans connect with one another as well as how we converse with machines of our own making. Our question in this essay is whether digital communication is changing the nature of conversation and, if so, what the implications may be for us as people. Our analysis identifies three sets of parameters for approaching these issues: linguistic (structure of conversations, communication medium, modulating the conversation to suit the perceived needs of our interlocutor, controlling the conversation), social (inner- or other-directed behavior, front stage or back stage behavior, strong or weak social ties, loneliness), and cognitive (level of intellectual engagement). We use these parameters to explore some of the linguistic, social, and cognitive consequences of electronically-mediated communication, of social reading onscreen, and of conversing with social robots

Control Freaks: How Online and Mobile Communication is Reshaping Social Contact

The year was 1956. At the time, the word “computer” referred to a roomful of hardware. “Telephones” were bulky black devices, tethered to walls (and, at least in the US, exclusively owned by the phone company). But a new gadget appeared on the scene that was destined to revolutionize our perceptions of technology – and our ability to manipulate it.The new contraption was a television remote control

Applied evaluative conditionnig: prevention of homophobia in a School Context

The evaluative conditioning paradigm was applied to prevent homophobia in secondary school education. It was an institutional intervention; all professionals who conducted the program were either teachers or staff. This was a key aspect to implementing the program and the necessary coordination. All intervention was inserted into an educational program which had been previously established to prevent bullying. Pre and post treatment measurements were performed. It started from a baseline with two indicators: homophobic attitudes meassured by visual analogue scales (VAs) in school situations, and the homophobic behavior, measured by the number of incidents (punished homophobic behaviours). It was performed with the methodology of P2P (peers to peers). It was obtained as changes in both indicators, attitudes and behaviour. With relationship to the first indicator, the differences were statistically significant. Homophobic attitudes were significantly reduced. They were evaluated as more favourable in terms of like/dislike. Behaviours such as “sitting near a gay partner” or “to be a friend of someone labelled as gay”, “stick to a teammate labelled gay", significantly more pleasant as assessments were obtained. The second indicator, (punished homophobic behaviours) was reduced, however, was not significant. Some reasons that justify these results will be discussed.Depto. de Sociología AplicadaFac. de Ciencias Políticas y SociologíaTRUEpu

Building research capacity in Education: evidence from recent initiatives in England, Scotland and Wales.

There is a pressing need to build research capacity in Education across the UK to combat the effects of the ageing research population and the increasing polarisation between research-intensive institutions and the remainder of the field. This paper draws data from three evaluations of recent initiatives across the UK to explore the necessary conditions for effectively building research capacity. Technicist and situated learning models are explored in relation to the immediate and longer term professional development of the research workforce, and we identify that central to the effectiveness of this professional learning is: (1) interpersonal support from more experienced colleagues; and (2) institutional support for research engagement, primarily in the provision of time and an infrastructure which can support research activity. We conclude that the development of, and engagement with, inter-institutional, inter-project communities is imperative to this process

Control Freaks: How Online and Mobile Communication is Reshaping Social Contact

The year was 1956. At the time, the word “computer” referred to a roomful of hardware. “Telephones” were bulky black devices, tethered to walls (and, at least in the US, exclusively owned by the phone company). But a new gadget appeared on the scene that was destined to revolutionize our perceptions of technology – and our ability to manipulate it. The new contraption was a television remote control

Remdesivir for the Treatment of COVID-19: A Systematic Review of the Literature

In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the spread of SARS-CoV-2 a global pandemic. To date, coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has spread to over 200 countries, leading to over 1.6 million cases and over 99,000 deaths. Given that there is neither a vaccine nor proven treatment for COVID-19, there is currently an urgent need for effective pharmacotherapy. To address the need for an effective treatment of SARS-CoV-2 during the worldwide pandemic, this systematic review of intravenous (IV) remdesivir was performed. Remdesivir, an anti-viral prodrug originally developed to treat Ebola virus disease, has shown broad spectrum activity against the Coronavirus family. A recent case report reported improvement of clinical symptoms with remdesivir in a patient with COVID-19. After conducting a systematic search of 18 clinical trial registries and three large scientific databases, we identified 86 potentially eligible items. Following removal of duplicates (n = 21), eligible studies were reviewed independently by two authors. After the first round of screening, inter-rater agreement was 98.5% (κ = 0.925). After the second round of full-text screening, inter-rater agreement was 100%. A total of seven ongoing and recruiting clinical trials of remdesivir (100-200 milligrams, intravenous [IV]) were included. We identified the following primary outcomes: patients discharged (n = 2); time to clinical status improvement (n = 2); improved O2 saturation (n = 2); body temperature normalization (n = 2); and clinical status (n = 1). Secondary outcomes in all identified studies included documentation of adverse events. Phase 3 trials are expected to be completed between April 2020–2023. Therefore, despite supportive data from in vitro and in vivo studies, the clinical effectiveness of IV remdesivir for treatment of COVID-19 and potential side effects remain incompletely defined in the human population

Dimensions of Clinical Leadership Behaviours Among Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study Between Two Countries

Background: Effective leadership has been associated with high-quality and compassionate care provision in health and social care contexts. This has led to a common acceptance that the teaching of leadership in nursing education is essential if students are to develop competencies in this area. To date, there is limited research on nursing students’ perception of clinical leadership behaviours worldwide. Objectives: To explore a) pre-registration students’ self-perceptions of clinical leadership behaviours and b) differences in students’ self-perceptions of leadership behaviours between countries (UK and Israel). Design and Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was used among two convenience samples of UK and Israeli pre-registration nursing students. Closed questionnaires were uploaded in the format of a commercial internet survey provider (Qualtrics.com) and distributed through the virtual learning platforms in both universities. Results: Overall 138 students completed the questionnaires. Significant differences were found between the two sites in the leadership dimensions “Emotional Intelligence” and “Impact and Influence” (p<.05), with UK students scoring higher than Israeli students. Among the Israeli sample, significant differences were found in leadership dimensions according to years of study, with the presence of higher scores in the 3rd year and 4th year students when compared with the 1st and 2nd Year students in the referred dimensions (p<.05). Conclusions: Differences in students’ clinical leadership perception exist between the two cohorts examined and between study years within the Israeli sample. Nurse educators should continue and expand the international research on this subject, in order to identify possible antecedents in the development of clinical leadership behaviours. At the same time, there is a need to continue efforts in enhancing the development of clinical leadership behaviours during all study years, through curricula updating in order to better prepare future nurses to provide quality, safe and person-centred care

A behavioral comparison of male and female adults with high functioning autism spectrum conditions

Autism spectrum conditions (ASC) affect more males than females in the general population. However, within ASC it is unclear if there are phenotypic sex differences. Testing for similarities and differences between the sexes is important not only for clinical assessment but also has implications for theories of typical sex differences and of autism. Using cognitive and behavioral measures, we investigated similarities and differences between the sexes in age- and IQ-matched adults with ASC (high-functioning autism or Asperger syndrome). Of the 83 (45 males and 38 females) participants, 62 (33 males and 29 females) met Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) cut-off criteria for autism in childhood and were included in all subsequent analyses. The severity of childhood core autism symptoms did not differ between the sexes. Males and females also did not differ in self-reported empathy, systemizing, anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive traits/symptoms or mentalizing performance. However, adult females with ASC showed more lifetime sensory symptoms (p = 0.036), fewer current socio-communication difficulties (p = 0.001), and more self-reported autistic traits (p = 0.012) than males. In addition, females with ASC who also had developmental language delay had lower current performance IQ than those without developmental language delay (p<0.001), a pattern not seen in males. The absence of typical sex differences in empathizing-systemizing profiles within the autism spectrum confirms a prediction from the extreme male brain theory. Behavioral sex differences within ASC may also reflect different developmental mechanisms between males and females with ASC. We discuss the importance of the superficially better socio-communication ability in adult females with ASC in terms of why females with ASC may more often go under-recognized, and receive their diagnosis later, than males