Linguistic signaling, emojis, and skin tone in trust games.

This paper reports the results of an experiment involving text-messaging and emojis in laboratory trust games executed on mobile devices. Decomposing chat logs, I find that trust increases dramatically with the introduction of emojis to one-shot games, while reciprocation increases only modestly. Skin tones embedded in emojis impact sharing and resulting gains-to the benefit of some and detriment to others. Both light and dark skin players trust less on receipt of a dark skin tone emoji-suggestive of statistical discrimination. In this way, computer-mediated communication leads to reduced gains for dark-skinned persons. These results highlight the complex social judgment that motivates trust in an anonymous counterpart.

Effects of self- and partner's online disclosure on relationship intimacy and satisfaction.

Most research on the effects of disclosure on close relationships have been done using offline disclosure. However, disclosure done online has disparate features and thus its effects on relationships may also differ. In five studies and using primes emulating Facebook timelines and messages, we compared the effects of disclosure depth on intimacy and satisfaction in online vs. offline contexts, in romantic vs. friend relationships, and with differing content (self- vs. partner-focused). After demonstrating consistent differences, we examined one mechanism that accounted for the differential effects of online vs. offline disclosure in romantic relationships: perceived inclusivity of the recipients. Results revealed that greater disclosure was associated with higher relational intimacy and satisfaction when done offline (Studies 1 and 4), and lower intimacy and satisfaction when done online (Studies 1-4), in both the discloser (Study 1) and his or her partner (Studies 2-4). The negative association between online disclosure and intimacy was present in romantic relationships, but not in friendships (Study 1). Importantly, this effect only appeared when perceived inclusivity of recipients was high (Study 4). Focusing the online disclosure content on the partner/relationship dissipated its negative effects (Study 5). Together, these studies extend further knowledge on how the effects of disclosure are contextualized, and suggest that disclosure done publicly online may be detrimental to romantic relationships.

Motivating the adoption of new community-minded behaviors: An empirical test in Nigeria.

Social scientists have long sought to explain why people donate resources for the good of a community. Less attention has been paid to the difficult task of motivating the first adopters of these important behaviors. In a field experiment in Nigeria, we tested two campaigns that encouraged people to try reporting corruption by text message. Psychological theories about how to shift perceived norms and how to reduce barriers to action drove the design of each campaign. The first, a film featuring actors reporting corruption, and the second, a mass text message reducing the effort required to report, caused a total of 1181 people in 106 communities to text, including 241 people who sent concrete corruption reports. Psychological theories of social norms and behavior change can illuminate the early stages of the evolution of cooperation and collective action, when adoption is still relatively rare.

Ethical issues in the use of SMS messaging in HIV care and treatment in low- and middle-income countries: case examples from Mozambique.

The introduction of mobile communication technologies in health care in low- and middle-income countries offers an opportunity for increased efficiencies in provision of care, improved utilization of scarce resources, reductions in workload, and increased reach of services to a larger target population. Short message service (SMS) technologies offer promise, with several large-scale SMS-based implementations already under way. Still largely lacking in the research literature are evaluations of specific ethical issues that arise when SMS programs are implemented and studied in resource-limited settings. In this paper, we examine the ethical issues raised by the deployment of SMS messaging to support patient retention in HIV care and treatment and in the research conducted to evaluate that deployment. We use case studies that are based in Mozambique and ground our discussion in the ethical framework for international research proposed by Emanuel et al., highlighting ethical considerations needed to guide the design and implementation of future SMS-based interventions. Such guidance is increasingly needed in countries such as Mozambique, where the local capacity for ethical study design and oversight is still limited and the scale-up and study of mHealth initiatives are still driven predominantly by international collaborators. These issues can be complex and will need ongoing attention on a case-by-case basis to ensure that appropriate protections are in place, while simultaneously maximizing the potential benefit of new mHealth technologies.

General practice ethics: text messages and boundaries in the GP-patient relationship.

Virtual forms of communication (eg texting) can support patients and may contribute to better care. However, these informal communication methods may intrude on the doctor's leisure time and undermine standards of care if they replace face-to-face consultations.Texting may cross boundaries in potentially unprofessional ways, especially when particular patients are favoured with this privilege. It may disadvantage patients who are not favoured or who are not comfortable using mobile technology. We also note that GPs cannot control the distribution of their number or recall it without the inconvenience of changing the number once it has been disclosed.Virtual communication is an integral part of the way we live, despite the potential pitfalls. Each form (social media, electronic messaging systems, video consultations, mobile phones, etc) has its advantages and disadvantages. This makes it important for practices to develop policies supporting the responsible use of virtual communication. Such policies should:clarify (for patients and GPs) when its use is appropriate accommodate doctors' individual preferences regarding technology provide guidance regarding GPs' duties, especially for interactions that do not allow full evaluation of patients.GPs may wish to have specific criteria for providing patients with this degree of access, set very clear indications and contraindications to its use, explain the potential pitfalls, and ensure that text messages augment good care rather than replace it.

Designing text-messaging (SMS) in HIV programs: ethics-framed recommendations from the field.

Text messages (SMS) are being increasingly integrated into HIV programs across Southern Africa to improve patient adherence, linkage to care and provide psycho-social support. Careful attention needs to be paid to the design of SMS-based interventions for clients of HIV-care services to ensure that any potential harm, such as unwanted disclosure of HIV status, is minimized. In this article we propose a set of best practice recommendations to ensure that any SMS-based intervention considers ethical principles to safeguard safety, autonomy and confidentiality of its targeted HIV-positive beneficiaries. This analysis draws from our operational experience in Southern Africa in the design and conduct of mHealth interventions in the frame of HIV projects. The recommendations, framed in the context of the Belmont Report's three ethical pillars, may contribute to more safely operationalize any SMS service integrated into an HIV program if adopted by mHealth planners and implementers. We encourage actors to report on the ethical and methodological pathways followed when conducting SMS-based innovations to improve the wellbeing and quality provision of HIV-care for their targeted clients.

Mental health practitioners' use and attitudes regarding the Internet and social media.

OBJECTIVE: Internet-based technologies, such as email and social media, are being increasingly used by mental health providers. The authors created a survey to better understand mental health providers' practices and attitudes regarding these platforms. METHODS: Psychiatrists and psychologists at Columbia and the New York State Psychiatric Institute completed a 24-item multiple choice and free-text survey about their use of and attitudes toward Internet technologies. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty faculty responded to the survey: 70% percent of respondents reported that they were somewhat or more familiar with social media; 20% reported that they sometimes or often searched for information about their patients online; and 60% said that searching for patients online could have a positive role in ongoing psychiatric care. Respondents with fewer years of practice were significantly more likely to use Facebook/Google Plus, texting, and instant messenger in their personal lives, while those with more years of practice were more likely to use Skype professionally. Practitioners who worked in hospital settings were more likely to search online for information about their patients. Practitioners working in outpatient clinics, private practices, and research settings were more likely to use websites, email, and Skype in their practices. CONCLUSIONS: Mental health care professionals are starting to incorporate Internet technologies into their professional lives, but they remain divided on the ethics and utility of using these technologies in clinical care. There appear to be differences in practices and attitudes toward the Internet among clinicians with different levels of experience and in different practice settings.

Gaming, texting, learning? Teaching engineering ethics through students' lived experiences with technology.

This paper examines how young peoples' lived experiences with personal technologies can be used to teach engineering ethics in a way which facilitates greater engagement with the subject. Engineering ethics can be challenging to teach: as a form of practical ethics, it is framed around future workplace experience in a professional setting which students are assumed to have no prior experience of. Yet the current generations of engineering students, who have been described as 'digital natives', do however have immersive personal experience with digital technologies; and experiential learning theory describes how students learn ethics more successfully when they can draw on personal experience which give context and meaning to abstract theories. This paper reviews current teaching practices in engineering ethics; and examines young people's engagement with technologies including cell phones, social networking sites, digital music and computer games to identify social and ethical elements of these practices which have relevance for the engineering ethics curricula. From this analysis three case studies are developed to illustrate how facets of the use of these technologies can be drawn on to teach topics including group work and communication; risk and safety; and engineering as social experimentation. Means for bridging personal experience and professional ethics when teaching these cases are discussed. The paper contributes to research and curriculum development in engineering ethics education, and to wider education research about methods of teaching 'the net generation'.

Adicción o abuso del teléfono móvil. Revisión de la literatura / Mobile phone abuse or addiction. A review of the literature

El teléfono móvil es un instrumento tecnológico relativamente nuevo, versátil y accesible, muy atractivo, especialmente para jóvenes, cuyo uso conlleva riesgo de abuso y comportamiento adictivo. En los últimos años ha aumentando el interés por este problema, especialmente por la implicación de población cada vez más joven. El objetivo del presente trabajo es revisar el estado actual del conocimiento sobre la adicción/abuso del móvil. Para ello, se efectuó una búsqueda en bases de datos internacionales, utilizando los descriptores "mobile phone", "celular telephones", "addiction" y "abuse", focalizándose en estudios de prevalencia, pruebas diagnósticas, asociaciones con variables psicológicas y diferencias de género. Se observa una indefinición conceptual sobre los conceptos de abuso y adicción al móvil, gran disparidad en la adopción de criterios diagnósticos y multiplicidad de instrumentos para su estimación. Consecuentemente, la prevalencia estimada oscila entre 0-38%, en función de la escala y características de la población estudiada. La autoatribución de adicción al móvil supera la estimación que alcanzan los mismos estudios. El rasgo de personalidad más consistentemente asociado a adicción es la baja autoestima, aunque la extraversión se relaciona con uso más intenso. Las mujeres con baja autoestima representan el grupo más vulnerable. El síntoma psicopatológico más comúnmente asociado fue la depresión. En definitiva, se evidencia que existe una problemática relacionada con el uso del teléfono móvil, pero la ausencia de criterios diagnósticos y la precaria calidad de los estudios dificultan la definición del problema. Es necesario delimitar y unificar criterios que permitan realizar estudios comparables y de calidad(AU)

The mobile phone is a relatively new technological tool, versatile and accessible, and very attractive, especially for young people, but whose use involves a risk of abuse and addictive behavior. In recent years there has been increasing interest in this problem, especially in view of the fact that it involves an increasingly younger population. The aim of this paper is to review the current state of scientific knowledge about cell phone addiction/abuse. To this end, a search was carried out in international databases, using the descriptors "mobile phone", "cellular telephones", "addiction" and "abuse", and focusing on prevalence studies, diagnostic tests, associations with psychological variables and gender differences. There is a conceptual vagueness about the concepts of abuse and addiction in relation to mobile phones, and wide disparity in the adoption of diagnostic criteria; moreover, there are numerous instruments for the assessment of these concepts. As a result, the estimated prevalence ranges from 0-38%, depending on the scale used and the characteristics of the population studied. Surprisingly, self-attribution of cell phone addiction exceeds the prevalence estimated in the studies themselves. The personality trait most consistently associated with addiction is low self-esteem, though extraversion is associated with more intense use. Women with low self-esteem are the most vulnerable group, and the most commonly associated psychopathological symptom was depression. In short, while the evidence suggests a problem in relation to mobile phone use, the vagueness of the cell phone addiction concept and the poor quality of the studies make it difficult to generalize the results. It is necessary to define and unify criteria with a view to carrying out quality studies that permit appropriate comparisons(AU)