Ovarian Hormone Fluctuation, Neurosteroids, and HPA Axis Dysregulation in Perimenopausal Depression: A Novel Heuristic Model

In this conceptual review, we propose a novel mechanistic candidate in the etiology of depression with onset in the menopause transition (a.k.a. perimenopausal depression) involving alterations in stress-responsive pathways, induced by ovarian hormone fluctuation

Supporting Personal and Romantic Relationships with Mobile Phones in Digitally Emergent Spaces

This is to certify that I have examined this copy of a doctoral dissertation b

Games as Technological Entry Point: A Case Study of Uzbekistan

This paper considers cross-cultural patterns of game-playing activities. The paper is part of an overall argument regarding computer games as a possible technological entry point for novice users. In particular, increasing use of games in educational settings has drawn attention to the fact that computer games can be a way for young people to gain an initial exposure to computer technology. The paper discusses game-playing patterns in the US and South Korea in order to demonstrate that such patterns vary based on country. The paper then considers survey work conducted in March 2003 in Uzbekistan that presents a snapshot of game-playing activity in a country that is in early stages of computer technology adoption. This paper is part of a larger study that seeks to argue that game-playing, if fostered correctly, can serve as an effective point of entry to computer technology for youth in developing countries and in areas where computer penetration is relatively low. Keywords: Cross-cultural issues, education, gaming patterns, international development, Uzbekistan

Resistance to globalization: Language and internet diffusion patterns

This paper discusses how the Internet can facilitate cultural expression that resists the homogenizing effects of globalization. It examines how local cultures adapt their linguistic behavior and language choices to the Internet and express themselves in culturally meaningful ways without being subsumed by a global agenda. The research reported in this paper is based on a survey administered in Uzbekistan, a post-Soviet, multilingual society that is experiencing the pressures of global culture as well as Russian culture. Literature about language, nationalism, and Internet use in multilingual societies is presented, and the linguistic setting of Uzbekistan is described. The results of the survey relevant to Internet use, online language choices, and perceptions of language on the Web are reported here. 1

Mobile social software for the developing world

Abstract. This paper discusses how the importance of social networks for performing everyday tasks in the developing world leads to new considerations of the utility of social networking software (SNS). The paper presents some results from a multi-year, multi-method study in Central Asia that tracks patterns of technology adoption and adaptation, as well as shifts in media consumption and information seeking. Our results suggest SNS is a particularly compelling approach in resource-constrained environments (broadly defined) as a way to leverage and systematize the ad hoc processes people develop to navigate their everyday lives and information ecology

Communication as information-seeking: the case for mobile social software for developing regions. Paper presented at

ABSTRACT In this paper, we describe several findings from a multi-year, multi-method study of how information and communication technologies have been adopted and adapted in Central Asia. We have found that mobile phone usage is outpacing the rate of Internet adoption, that access to the Internet is primarily through public access sites carrying with it issues regarding privacy and surveillance, that people rely on their social networks as information sources, that public institutions tend to be fairly weak as citizen resources, and that information seeking and communication are conflated in people's usage patterns with different technologies. In addition, in the developed world social networking software has grown rapidly and shown itself to have significant potential for mobilizing a population. Based on the collection of findings from Central Asia and observing patterns of technology usage in other parts of the world, our research leads to the conclusion that exploring mobile social software holds significant potential as an ICT that meshes well with preexisting patterns of communication and information seeking and also leverages the most predominant pattern of technology adoption. Many of the findings from this research echo results from studies in other geographic areas, and so we anticipate that much of this research will be relevant to developing regions generally