articles+ search results

There have been suggestions that the unity of consciousness may be related to the kind of holism depicted only in quantum physics. This argument will be clarified and strengthened. It requires the brain to contain a quantum system with the right properties - a 'Bose-Einstein condensate'. It probably does contain one such system, as both theory and experiment have indicated. In fact, we cannot pay full attention to a quantum whole and its parts simultaneously, though we may oscillate between the two. In a quantum theory of consciousness, emergent meanings arise as an inevitable consequence of Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MANAGEMENT

Presents an excerpt from the book `ReWiring the Corporate Brain: Using the New Science to Rethink How We Structure and Lead Organization.'

PSYCHOTHERAPISTS, PSYCHOTHERAPY, MEDICAL ethics, and ATTITUDE (Psychology)

Do psychotherapists' unethical practices influence how they are perceived? The 202 Israeli lay and professional psychology participants rated systematically varied descriptions of effective therapists and potential clients under conditions of no difficulties (standard), practice without a license, and a previous sexual boundary violation on indexes of evaluation and willingness to refer. Participants completed a measure of important variables in therapist selection. Effective standard therapists were rated most favorably, unlicensed therapists were rated favorably, and therapists who violated sexual boundaries in the past were rated least favorably. When results were analyzed by respondent characteristics, laypersons rated unlicensed professionals (p <. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTERNATIONAL relations, INTERNATIONAL alliances, and IRAQ War, 2003-2011

Over the past six years, US moral prestige in Europe has collapsed. Following President George W. Bush's re-election, allied governments for reasons of state have tried to restore relations, but we can only speculate on whether such raison d'état constitutes sufficient basis for an ambitious alliance of democracies. On this difficult foundation, what should the United States expect or hope for from European allies to help restore its position? In theory at least, Europe offers three things. First, capacity: the Europeans are not over-endowed with military power, to be sure, but their troops are needed in Afghanistan, Lebanon and beyond. Second, legitimacy: if America cannot bolster the perceived legitimacy of its foreign policy by way of a common moral vocabulary with France, who seriously expects to find it with Russia, China or even India? Third, restraint: the embedding of American power in the imperfect order of global institutions and governance. This does not mean an abrogation of US sovereignty or autonomy -- America is too powerful to sacrifice these in any meaningful sense. It does mean American leaders allowing themselves to be restrained by international opinion -- a restraint that would have helped the United States avoid disaster in Iraq. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AFRICAN American clergy, ORGAN donation, CHRISTIAN leadership, HEALTH education, EQUALITY, DECISION making, and RELIGION

Objectives. To describe and understand the attitudes, beliefs, and experiences towards organ and tissue donation among African American clergy in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The secondary objective is to understand what messages clergy are providing to their parishioners relative to organ and tissue donation, and what their perceived role is in donation education. Design. A qualitative study in which African American clergy (n=26) participated in four focus groups. Results. African American clergy, though generally supportive of organ and tissue donation in principle, have serious reservations about donation due to perceived inequalities in the donation and transplantation system. The clergy did not personally hold religious concerns about donation, but expressed that these concerns were a major barrier to donation among their parishioners. None of the clergy knew the written position that their religion took on donation; they acknowledged the need for more education for them and their parishioners on this topic. They also felt that as religious leaders, they could play an important role in promoting organ and tissue donation among African American parishioners. Conclusions. African American clergy and religious leaders may play an important role towards improving willingness to donate among African American parishioners, but more education and advocacy is needed to prepare them for this role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ONLINE social networks, SOCIAL networks, WEBSITES, SCHOLARSHIPS, and WEB 2.0

Social network sites (SNSs) are increasingly attracting the attention of academic and industry researchers intrigued by their affordances and reach. This special theme section of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication brings together scholarship on these emergent phenomena. In this introductory article, we describe features of SNSs and propose a comprehensive definition. We then present one perspective on the history of such sites, discussing key changes and developments. After briefly summarizing existing scholarship concerning SNSs, we discuss the articles in this special section and conclude with considerations for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ONLINE social networks, INTERNET users, PRIVACY, CONVERGENCE (Telecommunication), SOCIAL networks, COMPUTER users, and WEBSITES

Not all Facebook users appreciated the September 2006 launch of the News Feeds' feature. Concerned about privacy implications, thousands of users vocalized their discontent through the site itself, forcing the company to implement privacy tools. This essay examines the privacy concerns voiced following these events. Because the data made easily visible were already accessible with effort, what disturbed people was primarily the sense of exposure and invasion. In essence, the 'privacy trainwreck' that people experienced was the cost of social convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PREFACES & forewords and NUCLEAR arms control

The article presents an afterword to the issue, discussing the importance of nuclear weapons policy in international relations.

UNITED States presidential elections, PRESIDENTIAL candidates, POLITICAL campaigns, and POLITICAL platforms

The article discusses the U.S. presidential election campaign of Senators Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain. According to the author, McCain, a Republican candidate, has an advantage over his rivals because he is not burdened by all the tenet that has been integral to the party. His assured nomination is an amazing achievement in terms of probability that the Democratic nominee will be either black or a woman. On the other hand, Obama look interesting on his opposition on Iraq's war from the start and his articulation in forming a new brand of American nationalism. Meanwhile, Clinton was an advocate in intervening the wars in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq.

EDITORIALS, ONLINE social networks, POLITICAL participation, CYBERSPACE -- Social aspects, SOCIAL participation, and POLITICAL movements

The article presents the author's views regarding the issue whether social network sites (SNS) enable political action. The author believes that SNS would not make people politically activated. She believes that a typical SNS user lacks interest related to political issues. The author said that SNS are a type of networked public wherein most active SNS users substitute networked publics for physical publics because physical publics are inaccessible, heavily regulated or downright oppressive.

VISUAL perception, GAZE, VISUAL acuity, EYE movements, and VISION

Gaze changes and the resultant fixations that orchestrate the sequential acquisition of information from the visual environment are the central feature of primate vision. How are we to understand their function? For the most part, theories of fixation targets have been image based: The hypothesis being that the eye is drawn to places in the scene that contain discontinuities in image features such as motion, colour, and texture. But are these features the cause of the fixations, or merely the result of fixations that have been planned to serve some visual function? This paper examines the issue and reviews evidence from various image-based and task-based sources. Our conclusion is that the evidence is overwhelmingly in favour of fixation control being essentially task based. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTERNET & children, CRIMES against youth, CHILD sexual abuse, INTERNET, and ONLINE information services

A commentary is presented which addresses the issue of Internet safety among the youth. The authors cites the issues that dominate contemporary conversations concerning online safety. They mention the findings of the Crimes Against Children Research Center concerning sexual solicitation. They consider the problem with youth-generated Internet content.

BREAST cancer patients, INFORMATION processing, PSYCHOMETRICS, STROOP effect, PSYCHOLOGICAL tests, and CANCER in women

Biases in processing information related to sources of stress have widely been demonstrated with the use of Stroop emotional color word tasks. One study reported such biases among women with histories of breast cancer in a first-degree relative (FH+) who were given a Stroop cancer word task. This study aimed to replicate and extend these findings with a computerized version of the task. Response latencies and errors were recorded during administration of the task to FH+ and FH– women. A cancer list and 5 comparison lists were administered. Results indicated that FH+ women exhibited longer response latencies for cancer words than did FH– women (p < 0.04), providing further support for cognitive biases in FH+ women. Confirming the psychometric properties of the task, lists exhibited high reliability for both latency (αs 0.96–0.98) and error rate (αs 0.61–0.79). In sum, results support the favorable psychometrics and predictive validity of the Stroop cancer word task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BREAST surgery, BREAST tumors, SURGERY -- Psychological aspects, PATIENT psychology, ANALYSIS of variance, ANXIETY, CONFIDENCE intervals, LIFE change events, PROBABILITY theory, PSYCHOLOGICAL tests, QUESTIONNAIRES, REGRESSION analysis, SLEEP disorders, MULTIPLE regression analysis, SCALE items, ETIOLOGY of diseases, and EPIDEMIOLOGY

This study explored the relationship between psychological factors (including intrusive thoughts, anxiety, well-being, depressed mood) and poor sleep the night before surgery. Patients (N = 39) scheduled for breast surgery (mean age = 47 years) wore an actiwatch at home the night before surgery to provide an objective indication of sleep duration and sleep efficiency. Participants also completed 3 measures of their psychological experience during the week prior to surgery. In separate regression analyses, intrusive thoughts, anxiety, and emotional well-being were each related to sleep duration the night before surgery, when controlling for age, body mass index, ethnicity, and marital status. No relationships were found between depressed mood, physical or social well-being, and sleep duration. In a multiple regression model that included all significant variables, intrusive thoughts were most strongly associated with sleep duration. Intrusive thoughts were also significantly related to sleep efficiency. Results suggest that patients’ intrusions about impending surgery are associated with lower sleep duration and sleep efficiency the night before surgery. Additional research is warranted to explore the implications of these associations for patients, as well as possible interventions to improve sleep in this clinical setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This publication contains reprint articles for which IEEE does not hold copyright. You may purchase this article from the Ask*IEEE Document Delivery Service at http://www.ieee.org/services/askieee/ [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

POLARIZATION (Social sciences), SOCIAL groups, HOMOPHILY theory (Communication), INTERNET forums, and VIRTUAL communities

The principle of homophily says that people associate with other groups of people who are mostly like themselves. Many online communities are structured around groups of socially similar individuals. On Twitter, however, people are exposed to multiple, diverse points of view through the public timeline. The authors captured 30,000 tweets about the shooting of George Tiller, a late-term abortion doctor, and the subsequent conversations among pro-life and pro-choice advocates. They found that replies between like-minded individuals strengthen group identity, whereas replies between different-minded individuals reinforce in-group and out-group affiliation. Their results show that people are exposed to broader viewpoints than they were before but are limited in their ability to engage in meaningful discussion. They conclude with implications for different kinds of social participation on Twitter more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NUCLEAR weapons, NUCLEAR weapons -- Social aspects, COLD War, 1945-1991, and RADICALISM

At the close of 2010, not much of the Obama administration's ambitious Middle East agenda had been accomplished. The most dangerous impasse was in the failure of the administration's attempt at engagement with Iran. Tehran was continuing, albeit with some technical setbacks, to progress towards a nuclear-weapons capability. There is every reason to worry that, in the coming years, Israel will conclude that it is cornered, with no choice but to launch a preventive war aimed at crippling Tehran's nuclear infrastructure. But the rise of the Green Movement in Iran and the events since the its 2009 elections suggest that some of the principles of Cold War containment are relevant to the developing confrontation with Iran. Build up strength and resilience in our allies rather than seeking recklessly to destroy our opponents. Keep the moral high ground and keep our nerve. Contain challenges against us 'by the adroit and vigilant application of counter-force' and be ready to follow up with diplomacy. Do not go off half-cocked into ill-considered wars without understanding whom we are fighting, or how. If these principles are applied with prudence and historical patience, it seems reasonable to look forward to a 'mellowing', if not the radical reform of, an Iranian regime that like the Soviet Union is riddled with contradiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

EGYPTIAN revolution, Egypt, 2011-, TUNISIAN Revolution, 2010-2011, TRANSBORDER data flow, and JOURNALISTS

This article details the networked production and dissemination of news on Twitter during snapshots of the 2011 Tunisian and Egyptian Revolutions as seen through information flows-sets of near-duplicate tweets-across activists, bloggers, journalists, mainstream media outlets, and other engaged participants. We differentiate between these user types and analyze patterns of sourcing and routing information among them. We describe the symbiotic relationship between media outlets and individuals and the distinct roles particular user types appear to play. Using this analysis, we discuss how Twitter plays a key role in amplifying and spreading timely information across the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MICROBLOGS, INTERNET users, SOCIAL media, SELF-presentation, and SOCIAL interaction

Social media technologies collapse multiple audiences into single contexts, making it difficult for people to use the same techniques online that they do to handle multiplicity in face-to-face conversation. This article investigates how content producers navigate ‘imagined audiences’ on Twitter. We talked with participants who have different types of followings to understand their techniques, including targeting different audiences, concealing subjects, and maintaining authenticity. Some techniques of audience management resemble the practices of ‘micro-celebrity’ and personal branding, both strategic self-commodification. Our model of the networked audience assumes a many-to-many communication through which individuals conceptualize an imagined audience evoked through their tweets. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

MICROBLOGS, ONLINE social networks, CELEBRITIES, INTIMACY (Psychology), and ONLINE information services

Social media technologies let people connect by creating and sharing content. We examine the use of Twitter by famous people to conceptualize celebrity as a practice. On Twitter, celebrity is practiced through the appearance and performance of ‘backstage’ access. Celebrity practitioners reveal what appears to be personal information to create a sense of intimacy between participant and follower, publicly acknowledge fans, and use language and cultural references to create affiliations with followers. Interactions with other celebrity practitioners and personalities give the impression of candid, uncensored looks at the people behind the personas. But the indeterminate ‘authenticity’ of these performances appeals to some audiences, who enjoy the game playing intrinsic to gossip consumption. While celebrity practice is theoretically open to all, it is not an equalizer or democratizing discourse. Indeed, in order to successfully practice celebrity, fans must recognize the power differentials intrinsic to the relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]