Explore the vast range of titles available.

Background Previous research has shown that online social comparison can affect perceptions of self-esteem and body image. Purpose of the study This study focussed on social comparison on Instagram and its relationship with levels of self-esteem and body-esteem. Materials and methods Levels of self-esteem and body-esteem were measured using self-report questionnaires, before and after viewing Instagram images eliciting upward, downward, or no comparison. Results Statistical analysis showed self-esteem and body-esteem scores significantly increased after downward comparison, with no change in scores following a neutral condition. Body-esteem scores significantly decreased after upward comparison, whilst self-esteem scores did not. Support for social comparison theory is provided. Conclusions Future research and implications are discussed, such as educating young people about posting and viewing of overly positive images on social media. Social media organisations could provide access to resources which provide advice about mental health issues and support for individuals wanting to discuss body image issues. Future research could potentially establish if participants’ views about eating change after engaging in differing levels of social comparison on Instagram.

The Internet has revolutionized the health world, enabling self-diagnosis and online support to take place irrespective of time or location. Alongside the positive aspects for an individual's health from making use of the Internet, debate has intensified on how the increasing use of Web technology might have a negative impact on patients, caregivers, and practitioners. One such negative health-related behavior is Munchausen by Internet. Munchausen by Internet occurs when medically well individuals fake recognized illnesses in virtual environments, such as online support groups. This paper focuses on the aspect of Munchausen by Internet in which individuals actively seek to disrupt groups for their own satisfaction, which has not yet been associated with the wider phenomena of Internet trolls (users who post with the intention of annoying someone or disrupting an online environment). A wide-ranging review was conducted to investigate the causes and impacts of online identity deception and Munchausen by Internet drawing on academic research and case studies reported online and in the media. The limited research relating to motivation, opportunity, detection, effects, and consequences of Munchausen by Internet is highlighted and it is formally linked to aspects of trolling. Case studies are used to illustrate the phenomenon. What is particularly worrying is the ease with which the deception can be carried out online, the difficulty in detection, and the damaging impact and potential danger to isolated victims. We suggest ways to deal with Munchausen by Internet and provide advice for health group facilitators. We also propose that Munchausen by Internet and Munchausen by Internet trolling should be formally acknowledged in a revised version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual DSM-5. This will assist in effectively identifying and minimizing the growth of this behavior as more people seek reassurance and support about their health in the online environment. We also suggest directions for future research.

Background Studies shows that there is a relationship between internet addiction and ADHD symptoms, especially inattention. A study found that there is a unique relation between each core ADHD symptom and different types of internet activities. Another study found that deficits in inhibitory control moderate the relationship between internet addiction and inattention. Therefore, this study aimed to explore how specific online activities might modify the relationship between inattention, internet addiction and inhibitory control. Methods 205 participants (79 females,126 males) between 18 and 49 years old took part in the study from a community sample. They completed the demographic information form, Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale Symptom (ASRS-v1.1) Checklist, and Young’s Internet Addiction Test (IAT) online. Then, they performed the Stroop Task. Results Consistent with previous research we show that inattention predicts internet addiction, and that this relationship is moderated by inhibitory control ability; the relationship between inattention and internet addiction strengthens as executive function impairment increases. Conclusions These results indicate that ADHD symptoms and executive function impairments interact in a way that leads to real-life consequences, even when there is no relationship between those symptoms and executive function performance. Furthermore, we show that no single online activity is responsible for the relationship between inattention and internet addiction, nor does inhibitory control ability determine which online activity participants engage in.

Mobile devices have become increasingly important to young people who now use them to access a wide variety of health-related information. Research and policy related to the integration of health information and support with this technology do not effectively consider the viewpoint of a younger patient. Views of young people with type 1 diabetes are vital in developing quality services and improving their own health-related quality of life (HRQOL), yet research on their lifestyle and use of Web and mobile technology to support their condition and in non-health-related areas is sparse. To develop insight into young people with type 1 diabetes and their current use of Web and mobile technology and its potential impact on HRQOL. This can be achieved by constructing an in-depth picture of their day-to-day experiences from qualitative interviewing and exploring how they make use of technology in their lives and in relation to their condition and treatment. The goal was then to build something to help them, using the researcher's technical expertise and seeking users' opinions during the design and build, utilizing sociotechnical design principles. Data were collected by semistructured, in-depth qualitative interviews (N=9) of young people with type 1 diabetes aged 18-21. Interviews were transcribed and loaded onto NVivo for theme identification. Data analysis was undertaken during initial interviews (n=4) to locate potential ideas and enhancements for technical development. Latter interviews (n=5) assisted in the iterative sociotechnical design process of the development and provided additional developmental ideas. Six themes were identified providing an understanding of how participants lived with and experienced their condition and how they used technology. Four technological suggestions for improvement were taken forward for prototyping. One prototype was developed as a clinically approved app. A number of ideas for new mobile apps and enhancements to currently existing apps that did not satisfactorily cater to this age group's requirements for use in terms of design and functionality were suggested by interviewees but were not prototyped. This paper outlines the nonprototyped suggestions from interviewees and argues that young people with type 1 diabetes have a key role to play in the design and implementation of new technology to support them and improve HRQOL. It is vital to include and reflect on their suggestions as they have a radically different view of technology than either their parents or practitioners. We need to consider the relationship to technology that young people with type 1 diabetes have, and then reflect on how this might make a difference to them and when it might not be a suitable mechanism to use.

A purpose-made video game was used to measure response time and moral alignment of in-game moral decisions, which were made by 115 undergraduate students. Overall, moral decisions took between 4–6 seconds and were mostly pro-social. Previous gameplay, in-game, and post-game experiences predicted in-game moral alignment. Real-life moral salience was not related to in-game decision-making. The implications of these results are discussed in the context of the demands of video games and in-game moral decision-making models.

Subjective ratings have been central to the evaluation of icon characteristics. The current study examined biases in ratings in relation to the context in which icons are presented. Context was manipulated between participants, with some groups rating icon sets with limited variability, and others rating icon sets with wide variability. It was predicted that the context created by the icon set would influence participants’ ratings; when the range of icons was limited, this would create bias given participants’ expectation that a full range of icon values was being presented. Six key icon characteristics were rated, which were visual (visual complexity, appeal), affective (valence, feelings), and semantic (concreteness, semantic distance). Some icon characteristics were susceptible to rating bias while others were not. Where subjective judgements were being made of visual icon characteristics (appeal/complexity) and highly concrete icons which were very pictorial, there was clear evidence of substantial bias in ratings. The same susceptibility to bias was not evident when ratings relied solely on learned semantic associations or were associated with the emotional attributions made to icons. The dynamic nature of the ratings bias was demonstrated when the rating context was changed without participants’ knowledge. When participants rated further blocks of icons providing a different range of the to-be-rated characteristic, this resulted in rapid and dramatic changes in rating behaviour. These findings demonstrate the need for representative sampling of icon characteristics to avoid ratings bias. Practically, this is important when determining the usability of newly designed icon sets in order to avoid over-valuing or under-valuing of key characteristics.

An increasing number of studies have reported the existence of ADHD symptoms to be risk factors for technology addictions among young adults. In contrast to previous studies, the aim of the present study was to examine different dimensions of technology addiction in a community sample of adults and to examine their association with the individual trait-level ADHD symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity. A community sample of one hundred and fifty adults were recruited to participate in this study via convenience sampling. Participants completed the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale Symptom Checklist, the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale, the Smartphone Addiction Scale, Young’s Internet Addiction Test, the Compulsive Online Shopping Scale, and a Demographic Information Form. Composite ADHD score, inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity were positively associated with technology addictions (internet, social media, smartphone, and online shopping addiction). Hierarchical regression analysis revealed inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity were predictors of social media addiction and smartphone addiction, whereas they were not for online shopping addiction. Furthermore, inattention was the only predictor of internet addiction. People with non-clinical, trait-level ADHD, especially those showing a preponderance of inattention symptoms appear to be more vulnerable to developing some forms of technology addiction.

Gamification refers to the use of game elements in a business context to change users' behaviours, mainly increasing motivation towards a certain task or a strategic objective. Gamification has received a good deal of emphasis in both academia and industry across various disciplines and application areas. Despite the increasing interest, we still need a unified and holistic picture on how to engineer gamification, including the meaning of the term, its development process, the stakeholders and disciplines which need to be involved in it, and the concerns and risks that an ad-hoc design could raise for both businesses and users. To address this need, this article reports on empirical research which involved reviewing the literature and a range of gamification techniques and applications as secondary research, and an expert opinion study of two phases, qualitative and quantitative, as primary research. Based on the results, we provide a body of knowledge about gamification and point-out good practice principles and areas of gamification that are debatable and need further investigation.

Agritourism has grown rapidly in many countries worldwide. However, for all this success, little is known about the concrete implementation, actual extent, and effectiveness of public and private agritourism support measures aimed at keeping up farming and promoting agritourism. Hence, the objective of this study is to provide an overview and a comparison of agritourism supports and policies in different countries. To this purpose, specific political, legal, financial, and promotional instruments for agritourism have been investigated. The focus is on three countries with strong agritourism sectors and different socio-cultural characteristics: Italy, the USA, and South Africa. The analysis of these case study areas is motivated by examination of agritourism from different continents with a diverging status of development as well as history. Italy and the USA are two countries with well-established and successful agritourism sectors; however, these are based on very different framework conditions, resulting in specific development paths and various supportive driving factors. South Africa has been included as a representative case study of a developing country where agritourism operations are growing rapidly through the support of an active private sector association. By assessing commonalities and differences in public and private support backgrounds in three different continents, the present study represents the first exploratory attempt to understand the influences of public and private national and regional framework conditions for agritourism development. Our findings suggest that both public and private supports contribute to success; however, clear criteria and further research are needed in order to fully understand the implications.

Vamorolone is a synthetic steroidal drug with potent anti-inflammatory properties. Initial open-label, multiple ascending dose-finding studies of vamorolone among boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) found significant motor function improvement after 6 months treatment in higher-dose (ie, ≥2.0 mg/kg/d) groups. To investigate outcomes after 30 months of open-label vamorolone treatment. This nonrandomized controlled trial was conducted by the Cooperative International Neuromuscular Research Group at 11 US and non-US study sites. Participants were 46 boys ages 4.5 to 7.5 years with DMD who completed the 6-month dose-finding study. Data were analyzed from July 2020 through November 2021. Participants were enrolled in a 24-month, long-term extension (LTE) study with vamorolone dose escalated to 2.0 or 6.0 mg/kg/d. Change in time-to-stand (TTSTAND) velocity from dose-finding baseline to end of LTE study was the primary outcome. Efficacy assessments included timed function tests, 6-minute walk test, and NorthStar Ambulatory Assessment (NSAA). Participants with DMD treated with glucocorticoids from the Duchenne Natural History Study (DNHS) and NorthStar United Kingdom (NSUK) Network were matched and compared with participants in the LTE study receiving higher doses of vamorolone. Among 46 boys with DMD who completed the dose-finding study, 41 boys (mean [SD] age, 5.33 [0.96] years) completed the LTE study. Among 21 participants treated with higher-dose (ie, ≥2.0 mg/kg/d) vamorolone consistently throughout the 6-month dose-finding and 24-month LTE studies with data available at 30 months, there was a decrease in mean (SD) TTSTAND velocity from baseline to 30 months (0.206 [0.070] rises/s vs 0.189 (0.124) rises/s), which was not a statistically significant change (-0.011 rises/s; CI, -0.068 to 0.046 rises/s). There were no statistically significant differences between participants receiving higher-dose vamorolone and matched participants in the historical control groups receiving glucocorticoid treatment (75 patients in DNHS and 110 patients in NSUK) over a 2-year period in NSAA total score change (0.22 units vs NSUK; 95% CI, -4.48 to 4.04]; P = .92), body mass index z score change (0.002 vs DNHS SD/mo; 95% CI, -0.006 to 0.010; P = .58), or timed function test change. Vamorolone at doses up to 6.0 mg/kg/d was well tolerated, with 5 of 46 participants discontinuing prematurely and for reasons not associated with study drug. Participants in the DNHS treated with glucocorticoids had significant growth delay in comparison with participants treated with vamorolone who had stable height percentiles (0.37 percentile/mo; 95% CI, 0.23 to 0.52 percentile/mo) over time. This study found that vamorolone treatment was not associated with a change in TTSTAND velocity from baseline to 30 months among boys with DMD aged 4 to 7 years at enrollment. Vamorolone was associated with maintenance of muscle strength and function up to 30 months, similar to standard of care glucocorticoid therapy, and improved height velocity compared with growth deceleration associated with glucocorticoid treatment, suggesting that vamorolone may be an attractive candidate for treatment of DMD. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03038399.