iACToR Weekly Newsletter #11

[James Cullen]

Opening Statement

Hello iACToR members,

For this newsletter, we would like to highlight a very special project being funded by the European Commission Cordis. INTERSTRESS, or Interreality in the Management and Treatment of Stress-Related Disorders, which aims to design, develop and test an advanced ICT-based solution for the assessment and treatment of psychological stress.

INTERSTRESS’s three main objectives include:

• Quantitative and objective assessment of symptoms using biosensors and behavioral analysis
• Decision support for treatment planning through data fusion and detection algorithms
• Provision of warnings and motivating feedback to improve compliance and long-term outcome

This project brings together many researchers from across the globe. If you want to learn more about INTERSTRESS, please follow the project’s progress by visiting http://interstress.eu.

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Top CyberPsychology News

Textbooks with 3D Motion
Valencia, Spain May 1, 2010 - Playing with the eyes. This is the philosophy of the Reality project, developed by the research group Labhuman-I3BH of the Polytechnic University of Valencia and the Ministry of Education. The program, which was presented yesterday, is aimed at primary students and seeks to apply augmented reality technology to textbooks. "It means transforming papers into three-dimensional material," said Mariano Alcañiz, director of the research team. The project is based on the free support Lliurex and applied experimentally in third and fourth grade in the course, Conocimiento del Medio. To read more, visit http://bit.ly/bl6tcr.

The technological habits of today’s youth technology changed in only 10 years: UNAM
Mexico April 25, 2010 - The youth of the "digital generation" have registered rapid changes in their habits and skills making today's adolescents very different from ten years ago, due to changes in society, according to Georgina Cardenas, at the School of Psychology, UNAM. The specialist said that she was surprised how in just a decade the skills of the younger generation have been modified, to the extent that a young man, who lived ten years ago, could hardly absorb the amount of information that a boy today can. At this time, many have the ability to perform more than one activity at a time, called parallel thinking. To read more, visit http://bit.ly/arVF2j.

Evaluation of Spatial Processing in Virtual Reality Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI)
CyberPsychology Behavior, & Social Networking Vol. 13(2) - While the ecological validity of virtual reality (VR) applications is usually assessed by behavioral data or interrogation, an alternative approach on a neuronal level is offered by brain imaging methods. Because it is yet unclear if 3D space in virtual environments is processed analogically to the real world, we conducted a study investigating virtual spatial processing in the brain using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Results show differences in VR spatial brain processing as compared to known brain activations in reality. Identifying differences and commonalities of brain processing in VR reveals limitations and holds important implications for VR therapy and training tools. When VR therapy aims at the rehabilitation of brain function and activity, differences in brain processing have to be taken into account for designing effective VR training tools. To read more, visit http://bit.ly/aTnU3x.

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5 Ways to Get More Involved in the iACToR Members Website

1. Become a Premium Member of iACToR!
   • Get extensive discounts off registration for the World Health Care Congress in Washington D.C., World Health Care Congress in Brussels, Belgium, Med-E-Tel Conference, and the 15th Annual CyberPsychology and CyberTherapy Conference.
   • Get discounted subscriptions to your favorite CyberPsychology publications
   • Enjoy free online access to the largest online CyberPsychology Database on the Internet (Being launched soon!)
   • Take part in the annual iACToR General Assembly
   • Receive discounted membership to affiliated associations and societies.
2. Join your local iACToR Chapter! Please visit the Chapter page to request membership to the appropriate iACToR Chapter. This is an excellent way to become acquainted and introduced to colleagues in your area!
   
   
3. Begin the discussion! Please visit the Forum, find the appropriate category, and click Add a Discussion! As this field is rapidly growing, collaboration and discussion is vital to the growth and progress. Some have begun already, and we hope to see you post as well.
   
   
4. Invite your colleagues! On the right hand side, under your name, next to the friends hyperlink is an Invite hyperlink. We encourage you to invite your colleagues to join in the discussion.
   
   
5. Update Your Profile and Comment on Others! Keep members up to date with your latest information. Post a blog, update your status, add a picture of yourself, and let the community know your area of expertise. All can be done with in your Profile page and we encourage you to do so!

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Coming Soon

1. iACToR is in the process of compiling and formatting the largest CyberPsychology and CyberTherapy Resource for Premium iACToR Members to be launched soon! Stay tuned for details.
2. iACToR is in the process of adding video chat to the iACToR website so that members can communicate and collaborate no matter where they are across the globe face-to-face. Stay tuned for updates!

Thank you all and I look forward to shaping our community with your help and valuable input!

Create your own reality!

Brenda K. Wiederhold, PhD, MBA, BCIA
Secretary General
International Association of CyberPsychology, Training, & Rehabilitation (iACToR)