Use of SMS texts for facilitating access to online alcohol interventions: a feasibility study

A41 Use of SMS texts for facilitating access to online alcohol interventions: a feasibility study In: Addiction Science & Clinical Practice 2017, 12(Suppl 1): A4

Association studies of up to 1.2 million individuals yield new insights into the genetic etiology of tobacco and alcohol use

Tobacco and alcohol use are leading causes of mortality that influence risk for many complex diseases and disorders 1 . They are heritable 2,3 and etiologically related 4,5 behaviors that have been resistant to gene discovery efforts 6–11 . In sample sizes up to 1.2 million individuals, we discovered 566 genetic variants in 406 loci associated with multiple stages of tobacco use (initiation, cessation, and heaviness) as well as alcohol use, with 150 loci evidencing pleiotropic association. Smoking phenotypes were positively genetically correlated with many health conditions, whereas alcohol use was negatively correlated with these conditions, such that increased genetic risk for alcohol use is associated with lower disease risk. We report evidence for the involvement of many systems in tobacco and alcohol use, including genes involved in nicotinic, dopaminergic, and glutamatergic neurotransmission. The results provide a solid starting point to evaluate the effects of these loci in model organisms and more precise substance use measures

Association studies of up to 1.2 million individuals yield new insights into the genetic etiology of tobacco and alcohol use

Tobacco and alcohol use are leading causes of mortality that influence risk for many complex diseases and disorders. They are heritable and etiologically related behaviors that have been resistant to gene discovery efforts. In sample sizes up to 1.2 million individuals, we discovered 566 genetic variants in 406 loci associated with multiple stages of tobacco use (initiation, cessation, and heaviness) as well as alcohol use, with 150 loci evidencing pleiotropic association. Smoking phenotypes were positively genetically correlated with many health conditions, whereas alcohol use was negatively correlated with these conditions, such that increased genetic risk for alcohol use is associated with lower disease risk. We report evidence for the involvement of many systems in tobacco and alcohol use, including genes involved in nicotinic, dopaminergic, and glutamatergic neurotransmission. The results provide a solid starting point to evaluate the effects of these loci in model organisms and more precise substance use measures

Proceedings of the 13th annual conference of INEBRIA

CITATION: Watson, R., et al. 2016. Proceedings of the 13th annual conference of INEBRIA. Addiction Science & Clinical Practice, 11:13, doi:10.1186/s13722-016-0062-9.The original publication is available at https://ascpjournal.biomedcentral.comENGLISH SUMMARY : Meeting abstracts.https://ascpjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13722-016-0062-9Publisher's versio

Using Construal Level Theory To Motivate Accounting Research: A Literature Review

This study reviews extant literature on construal level theory (CLT) of psychological distance (Liberman and Trope 1998; Trope and Liberman 2003). According to CLT, the concept of psychological distance constitutes a common meaning shared by four interrelated dimensions: temporal distance, social distance, spatial distance, and hypotheticality. The core premise is that psychological distance is tied to the level of mental construal (i.e., mental representation), such that more distant objects (or situations) are construed at a higher level and higher-level construals evoke thoughts of more distant objects (Trope and Liberman 2010). CLT further suggests that mental construals influence evaluation, prediction, and behavior (Trope, Liberman, and Wakslak 2007). In spite of the fact that CLT is considered a prominent contemporary theory and comprehensive framework for judgment and decision-making, behavioral accounting research, with few exceptions, has largely ignored the theory’s predictions and insights. However, as accounting, auditing, and business in general become increasingly global and geographically dispersed, the perspectives provided by CLT should no longer be ignored. This study aims at illustrating CLT’s potential for investigating hitherto unexplained phenomena within the accounting domain and argues that CLT provides the potential for a superior understanding of the heuristics and biases in judgment and decision-making that are associated with distance-affected decision environments. The paper reviews the findings reported in 88 articles (and one book chapter) with an emphasis on publications that apply CLT in contexts that are of particular interest to accounting researchers. CLT’s underlying theoretical logic, its commonalities, and its differences with related theories and models are explained through a detailed review of the insights gained from basic CLT research. Commonly applied methods associated with experimental manipulations are highlighted, and broad, CLT-based research questions pertaining to various accounting domains are offered

Lessons From The Literature On The Theory Of Technology Dominance: Possibilities For An Extended Research Framework

This manuscript provides a detailed review of the extant literature on the Theory of Technology Dominance (TTD) (Arnold and Sutton 1998) and proposes a research framework for refinement of the predictions offered by the TTD. Based on the reviewed TTD studies and related decision aid research, additional factors that may affect users’ tendency toward reliance or no reliance on the recommendation of an intelligent decision aid (DA) are identified and consolidated into a refined model. Following Arnold and Sutton’s (1998) deductive-analytical approach, as well as Weber’s (2003) four-step theory-building methodology, four additional factors (initial trust, confidence, built trust, and explanation) are identified and linked to the existing TTD framework via articulation of five novel propositions. As such, the present study makes a theoretical contribution to the information systems literature, as well as to the broader reliance literature and identifies possibilities for future inquiry into practice-relevant understanding of human-computer interactions

When The World Isn\u27T Always Flat: The Impact Of Psychological Distance On Auditors\u27 Reliance On Specialists

This study addresses recent calls for research on the conditions influencing auditor decisions related to PCAOB-encouraged reliance on third-party experts. To this end, the present study explores the effect of psychological distance on external auditors\u27 reliance when induced through physical distance in a telework relationship between an auditee and a specialist. The reliance decision focuses on the auditee\u27s contracting with a computer audit specialist who works remotely through a telework arrangement. The psychological distance associated with this telework arrangement is examined both in the context of variance in the physical distance of the computer audit specialist and the interactive effect of a contextual factor - the historical experience with an auditee\u27s internal audit function. A 2. ×. 2 experiment with a total of 121 experienced Big 4 auditors is conducted in which psychological distance (physically proximate or remote specialist) and historical experience with an auditee\u27s internal audit function (presence or absence of a prior year material weakness in internal controls) are manipulated. Consistent with predictions based on construal level theory, we find that psychological distance affects auditors\u27 reliance judgment such that increased distance leads to lower reliance. Furthermore, the historical experience with the auditee\u27s internal audit function creates a halo effect which moderates the effect of psychological distance such that the differential effect of a present vs. absent prior year material weakness on auditors\u27 confidence and associated willingness to reduce budgeted audit hours is larger for a psychologically distant specialist. The results of this study suggest that an auditee\u27s choice of a more proximate specialist may garner greater reliance by the external auditor, particularly when there is a material weakness in the prior year audit that the specialist is intended to help ameliorate

Avatars and Knowledge Sharing

In human-computer interactions, digital representations of humans (called avatars) are commonly used. We study how knowledge sharing behavior within an organization is affected by avatar use among co-workers in a computer-mediated environment. Such inquiry is important because of the essential role of knowledge exchange for organizational success. Drawing on construal level theory, we examine how avatar use can influence knowledge exchange. Conducting an experiment that involves eye trackers, we predict and show that avatar use can decrease participants’ willingness to share knowledge. Our findings also suggest that factors traditionally associated with knowledge sharing interact with the manner in which humans are digitally represented (avatar vs. real-life image). We further discuss the implications of changes in eye gaze patterns that result from variations in digital representations of humans

Synchrotron radiation analysis in the study of pollution in the ring-billed gull (larus delawarensis): a novel application of the technique

Synchrotron radiation analysis is a powerful tool for identifying pollutants. Here, we explore the distribution of elements in the flight feathers of ring-billed gulls, Larus delawarensis, to identify potential pollutants and their distribution throughout the feather. Our analysis using Synchrotron Radiation Analysis and Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy has identified a variety of metals that are integral parts of the feather structure including: calcium (Ca), strontium (Sr), zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe). The darker portions of the flight feather were enriched with Zn and Fe, which supports the suggestion that feather melanins are efficient ligands of some metals found in the environment, sequestering potentially harmful particles away from the body. However, trace lead (Pb) acquired from the regional pollution was detected only in females, and it was distributed across both the melanized and non-melanized portions of the feather suggesting that only some metals are efficiently sequestered by melanins. Overall this study highlights a potential method for identifying pollutants using bird feathers, which has broader implications on environmental sensing as well as avian and human health. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd