Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity

Our smartphones enable—and encourage—constant connection to information, entertainment, and each other. They put the world at our fingertips, and rarely leave our sides. Although these devices have immense potential to improve welfare, their persistent presence may come at a cognitive cost. In this research, we test the “brain drain” hypothesis that the mere presence of one’s own smartphone may occupy limited-capacity cognitive resources, thereby leaving fewer resources available for other tasks and undercutting cognitive performance. Results from two experiments indicate that even when people are successful at maintaining sustained attention—as when avoiding the temptation to check their phones—the mere presence of these devices reduces available cognitive capacity. Moreover, these cognitive costs are highest for those highest in smartphone dependence. We conclude by discussing the practical implications of this smartphone-induced brain drain for consumer decision-making and consumer welfare.Marketin

iPosture: The Size of Electronic Consumer Devices Affects our Behavior

We examined whether incidental body posture, prompted by working on electronic devices of different sizes, affects power-related behaviors. Grounded in research showing that adopting expansive body postures increases psychological power, we hypothesized that working on larger devices, which forces people to physically expand, causes users to behave more assertively. Participants were randomly assigned to interact with one of four electronic devices that varied in size: an iPod Touch, an iPad, a MacBook Pro (laptop computer), or an iMac (desktop computer). As hypothesized, compared to participants working on larger devices (e.g., an iMac), participants who worked on smaller devices (e.g., an iPad) behaved less assertively – waiting longer to interrupt an experimenter who had made them wait, or not interrupting at all

Context-Aware Prediction of User Engagement on Online Social Platforms

The success of online social platforms hinges on their ability to predict and understand user behavior at scale. Here, we present data suggesting that context-aware modeling approaches may offer a holistic yet lightweight and potentially privacy-preserving representation of user engagement on online social platforms. Leveraging deep LSTM neural networks to analyze more than 100 million Snapchat sessions from almost 80.000 users, we demonstrate that patterns of active and passive use are predictable from past behavior (R2=0.345) and that the integration of context information substantially improves predictive performance compared to the behavioral baseline model (R2=0.522). Features related to smartphone connectivity status, location, temporal context, and weather were found to capture non-redundant variance in user engagement relative to features derived from histories of in-app behaviors. Further, we show that a large proportion of variance can be accounted for with minimal behavioral histories if momentary context information is considered (R2=0.44). These results indicate the potential of context-aware approaches for making models more efficient and privacy-preserving by reducing the need for long data histories. Finally, we employ model explainability techniques to glean preliminary insights into the underlying behavioral mechanisms. Our findings are consistent with the notion of context-contingent, habit-driven patterns of active and passive use, underscoring the value of contextualized representations of user behavior for predicting user engagement on social platforms

Reciprocity, Homophily, and Social Network Effects in Pictorial Communication: A Case Study of Bitmoji Stickers

Pictorial emojis and stickers are commonly used in online social networking to facilitate and aid communications. We delve into the use of Bitmoji stickers, a highly expressive form of pictorial communication using avatars resembling actual users. We collect a large-scale dataset of the metadata of 3 billion Bitmoji stickers shared among 300 million Snapchat users. We find that individual Bitmoji sticker usage patterns can be characterized jointly on dimensions of reciprocity and selectivity: Users are either both reciprocal and selective about whom they use Bitmoji stickers with or neither reciprocal nor selective. We additionally provide evidence of network homophily in that friends use Bitmoji stickers at similar rates. Finally, using a quasi-experimental approach, we show that receiving Bitmoji stickers from a friend encourages future Bitmoji sticker usage and overall Snapchat engagement. We discuss broader implications of our work towards a better understanding of pictorial communication behaviors in social networks.Comment: 21 page

Inclusion of the birth cohort dimension improved description and explanation of trends in statin use

Objective: Including the birth cohort dimension improves trend studies of mortality and health. We investigated the effect of including the birth cohort dimension in trend studies of prescription drug use by studying prevalence of statin use among adults. Study Design and Setting: Data from a drug prescription database in the Netherlands (IADB.nl) were used to obtain the number of users of statin per 1,000 population (prevalence) in the age range 18-85 years from 1994 to 2008. We applied descriptive graphs and standard age-period-cohort (APC) models. Results: From 1994 to 2008, the prevalence increased from similar to 10 to similar to 90 users per 1,000 population, with the peak in prevalence shifting from age 63 to 78 years. The APC model shows patterns that were masked in the age-period (AP) model. The prevalence rate ratio increased from the 1911 birth cohort to the 1930 birth cohort and then declined. Similar for both sexes, adding nonlinear period effects contributed similar to 4.4% to reductions in deviance, whereas adding nonlinear birth cohort effects contributed similar to 12.9%. Conclusion: Adding the birth cohort dimension to AP analysis is valuable for academic and professional practice as trends can be more accurately described and explained and it can help improve projections of future trends. (c) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Cost-effectiveness of tipranavir versus comparator protease inhibitor regimens in HIV infected patients previously exposed to antiretroviral therapy in the Netherlands

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study compares the costs and effects of a regimen with ritonavir-boosted tipranavir (TPV/r) to a physician-selected genotypically-defined standard-of-care comparator protease inhibitor regimen boosted with ritonavir (CPI/r) in HIV infected patients that were previously exposed to antiretroviral therapy in the Netherlands.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We compared the projected lifetime costs and effects of two theoretical groups of 1000 patients, one receiving a standard of care regimen with TPV/r as a component and the other receiving a standard of care regimen with CPI/r. A 3-stage Markov model was formulated to represent three different consecutive HAART regimens. The model uses 12 health states based on viral load and CD4+ count to simulate disease progression. The transition probabilities for the Markov model were derived from a United States cohort of treatment experienced HIV patients. Furthermore, the study design was based on 48-week data from the RESIST-2 clinical trial and local Dutch costing data. Cost and health effects were discounted at 4% and 1.5% respectively according to the Dutch guideline. The analysis was conducted from the Dutch healthcare perspective using 2006 unit cost prices.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our model projects an accumulated discounted cost to the Dutch healthcare system per patient receiving the TPV/r regimen of €167,200 compared to €145,400 for the CPI/r regimen. This results in an incremental cost of €21,800 per patient. The accumulated discounted effect is 7.43 life years or 6.31 quality adjusted life years (QALYs) per patient receiving TPV/r, compared to 6.91 life years or 5.80 QALYs per patient receiving CPI/r. This translates into an incremental effect of TPV/r over CPI/r of 0.52 life years gained (LYG) or 0.51 QALYs gained. The corresponding incremental cost effectiveness ratios (iCERs) are €41,600 per LYG and €42,500 per QALY.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We estimated the iCER for TPV/r compared to CPI/r at approximately €40,000 in treatment experienced HIV-1 infected patients in the Netherlands. This ratio may well be in range of what is acceptable and warrants reimbursement for new drug treatments in the Netherlands, in particular in therapeutic areas as end-stage oncology and HIV and other last-resort health-care interventions.</p

Filaggrin loss-of-function mutations and atopic dermatitis as risk factors for hand eczema in apprentice nurses:part II of a prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Environmental exposure and personal susceptibility both contribute to the development of hand eczema. In this study, we investigated the effect of loss-of-function mutations in the filaggrin gene (FLG), atopic dermatitis and wet work exposure on the development of hand eczema in apprentice nurses. METHODS: Dutch apprentice nurses were genotyped for the four most common FLG mutations; atopic dermatitis and hand eczema history were assessed by questionnaire. Exposure and hand eczema during traineeships were assessed with diary cards. RESULTS: The prevalence of hand eczema during traineeships was higher among subjects with a history of hand eczema reported at inclusion. Hand washing during traineeships and at home increased the risk of hand eczema. After adjustment for the effects of exposure and FLG mutations, an odds ratio of 2.5 (90% confidence interval 1.7–3.7) was found for a history of atopic dermatitis. In this study, an increased risk of hand eczema conferred by FLG mutations could not be shown, but subjects with concomitant FLG mutations and atopic dermatitis showed the highest risk of hand eczema during traineeships. CONCLUSION: A history of atopic dermatitis, a history of hand eczema and wet work exposure were the most important factors increasing the risk of hand eczema during traineeships