Location
First Session: Humanities Auditorium, Scripps College, Claremont.

Second Session: Mary Pickford Auditorium, Bauer Center, Claremont McKenna College, Claremont.

Time
10:00 AM to 12:30 PM

Lunch-discussion
First Session: Margaret Fowler Garden, Scripps College

Richard A. Hudiburg, Ph.D.

Relationship of Computer Hassles to Somatic Complaints

Friday, March 7, 2003

The investigation of Human-Computer interactions has been a topic of interest to researchers for more than 30 years. Researchers have produced numerous psychological measures characterizing these interactions. Starting with Lee's 1963 national survey of computer attitudes, researchers have developed self-report measures of computer anxiety, computerphobia, computer aversion, computer efficacy, and computer stress. Research has shown that these various human-computer interaction outcome measures are empirically related and empirically different. The Computer Hassles scale has been shown to be a different construct from the other human-computer interaction measures. This presentation will show that the Computer Hassles Scale has been shown to be consistently correlated with reports of somatic complaints and anxiety. Additionally, there will be a review of current research on how computer use relates to the psychophysiology of work stress with specific attention to musculosketal symptoms.

Dr. Richard A. Hudiburg received undergraduate degrees from Monterey Peninsula College, Monterey, California and Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, California. He received an M.A. and Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas. He has received graduate training and taught computer science at the University of North Texas, Denton, Texas. He has worked as a psychologist at two institutions for the developmental disabled (in Texas and New York). 

Dr. Hudiburg is currently Professor of Psychology at the University of North Alabama, Florence, Alabama where he has been on the faculty since 1983. Dr. Hudiburg has maintained a research interest in the effects of human-computer interactions. He has developed a research scale, the Computer Hassles Scale, which has been translated into five languages. Dr. Hudiburg has served as president of the Alabama Academy of Science. He is interested in research topics related to using Web based data collection and cellular telephone use behavior. Dr. Hudiburg has other computer interests, in particular computer hardware developments. He serves as the webmaster for four websites.

References:

Milton Huang, M.D.

Virtual Reality Based Psychotherapy

Friday, March 7, 2003

Technology advances have lead to the greater availability of Virtual Reality (VR) devices, and a related increase in the application of these technologies to mental health treatment.  Researchers and therapists have used these technologies in the treatment of phobias and other fear disorders, body image disturbance and eating disorders, 
autism, and pain control.  Research on the effectiveness of these techniques is still in its infancy, but current experience suggests that VR may allow us to affect mental processes in ways we have never been able to before.  This talk will review some of the research and therapeutic applications of VR, as well as explore the question of how 
VR obtains its effects. 

Dr. Milton P. Huang received two undergraduate degrees from Stanford University, a B.S. In Electrical Engineering and a B.A. in Psychology. He obtained his medical training at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Dr. Huang is a certified surgeon and physician. He has been a research fellow, lecturer and professor at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He is currently the President, CEO and Chief Scientist at Emotrics, LLC.

References:

Harvey Fishman, M.D., Ph.D.

Prosthetic Electronic Retina

Friday, March 7, 2003

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common form of severe and irreversible blindness in the U.S. Dr. Fishman research program consists of a highly interdisciplinary effort between physicians, engineers, and scientists to develop a neural interface that will connect the output from a digital camera to individual retinal cells in patients with AMD, thus bypassing injured cells. Present prosthetic devices stimulate neurons electrically with limited spatial control and without cell type specificity. His purpose is to explore whether neuronal growth from a specific retinal cell layer can be directed onto a chip where focal neurotransmitter or electrical stimulation would provide a more physiologic and neuron-specific transfer of information. To accomplish this, he is adapting BioMEMs technology to construct an artificial nerve connection that will be fashioned from flexible biomaterials and upon which the microcircuitry of retinal cells will be re-grown. 

The ability to direct the growth of retinal-cell neurites and to stimulate them with a microfluidic neurotransmitter delivery system demonstrates the feasibility of a visual prosthesis interface based on direct neuronal stimulation with physiologically appropriate neurotransmitters. This neural interface represents a new paradigm in the field of electronic prosthetic retinas that are being developed worldwide. In addition to advancing the treatment of AMD, this method will have wide-reaching applications in spinal cord injuries and in the field of tissue engineering. These bioengineering technologies will help bring basic science discoveries into clinical realities and bridge the gap from bench to bedside.

Harvey A. Fishman, M.D., Ph.D., is Director of Ophthalmic Tissue Engineering, Department of Ophthalmology, Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Fishman received his Baccalaureate degree in Chemistry. He then earned a Ph.D. in Chemistry with an emphasis in Neuroscience from Stanford University.  He then earned an M.D. degree from Stanford University. He completed a medical internship at St. Mary's Hospital in San Francisco and is currently a licensed Physician in the State of California.  Dr. Fishman's area of expertise is translational research that uses a multidisciplinary approach to develop novel therapies for blinding diseases in the eye - in particular, Age-Related Macular Degeneration. His research bridges the gaps between tissue engineering, surface science, nanofabrication, chemistry, neuroscience and retinal transplantation biology in Ophthalmology. His background in new technologies and medical science is diverse including bioMEMS, chip-based microfluidics and confocal and time-lapse microscopy, neuroscience/nerve cell regeneration and macular diseases in ophthalmology. He has made contributions in the fields of microfluidics, laser-induced fluorescence detection, separation science, and biosensors.

Sal Restivo, Ph.D.

Minds, Machines, and Bodies: The Social Turn

Friday, March 7, 2003

Sal Restivo is Professor of Science Studies, Sociology, and Information Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Hixon/Riggs Professor of Science, Technology, and Society at Harvey Mudd College, and Special Professor of Mathematics Education at Nottingham University in England. One of his current projects is a book with Dr. Leslie Brothers in which the mind/body problem is tackled at the intersection of sociology and neuroscience, The Mind Manifesto. He is also editing the Oxford Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Society.

In his presentation, he will give a brief introduction to the historical context for and recent developments in social cognition, social cognitive neuroscience, and the sociology of mind. More generally, he will draw attention to the social turn in the various sciences of mind, brain, and body.

Dr. Restivo is the author of The Social Relations of Physics, Mysticism, and Mathematics (1983), The Sociological Worldview (1991), Mathematics in Society and History (1992), and Science, Society, and Values: Toward a Sociology of Objectivity (1994). He is also co-editor (with C.K. Vanderpool) of Comparative Studies in Science and Society (1974); co-editor (with J.P. Van Bendegem and Roland Fischer) of Math Worlds: Philosophical and Social Studies of Mathematics and Mathematics Education (1993); and co-editor with Jennifer Croissant of Degrees of Compromise: Academic Values and Industrial Interests (2000). Some of his work has been translated into Chinese, Swedish, Roumanian, and Russian. He has lived, studied, and taught in Michigan, Ontario (Canada), Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, London (UK), Brussels (Belgium), Birmingham (UK), Copenhagen (Denmark), and Goteborg (Sweden). 

References:

Donald W. Black, M.D.

The Phenomenology of Compulsive Computer Use

Friday, April 4, 2003

Compulsive computer use has attracted increasing attention from professionals and lay persons.  The prevalence is unknown, although widespread computer availability and the increasing popularity of the Internet suggest that compulsive computer use is a growing problem.  While there are no accepted definitions, it has been described as a preoccupation with computer usage that is overly time consuming, causes personal distress (mostly through one's sense of loss of control), and has the potential to cause interpersonal, occupational, financial, or legal consequences.  The author describes the results of several case series on persons with compulsive computer use including his own study of 21 persons (16 men, five women) who were evaluated with structured and semi-structured assessments including the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS), the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire (PDQ), and the Minnesota Impulsive Disorders Interview (MIDI).  In this series, subjects had a mean age of 32 years with a range of 19 to 62 years.  The transition from initial to problematic computer use took a mean of 11 years.  Subjects spent a mean of 27 hours in "non-essential" computer use.  According to DIS results, about one-third had a lifetime mood disorder, 38% had a substance use disorder, and 19% had an anxiety disorder.  Fifty-two percent met criteria for a personality disorder.  On the Short Form-36 Health Survey, subjects showed impaired mental health functioning.  The author also discusses the connection between compulsive computer use and Internet pornography, shopping, and gambling.  The author concludes that compulsive computer use is definable, has characteristic features, and has all of the earmarks of a valid psychiatric disorder.

Donald W. Black, MD is currently a professor of Psychiatry at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine.  He is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of Utah College of Medicine.  He completed his training in psychiatry and a fellowship in Psychiatric Epidemiology at the University of Iowa.  Dr. Black divides his time between patient care, teaching, and research.  He also serves as a consultant to the Iowa Department of Corrections.  He has received the University of Iowa Collegiate Teaching Award for excellence in teaching and has been listed in "Best Doctors in America".  His research has focused on compulsive behaviors and severe personality disorders, and he has recently received NIMH funding to support treatment studies of pathological gambling and borderline personality.  His book Bad Boys, Bad Men - Confronting Antisocial Personality Disorder was published by Oxford University Press in 1999.  Dr. Black's work has attracted international attention, and has been profiled on television programs including "20/20", "Dateline", and "48 Hours".

References:

Adekola Alao, M.D., MRCPsych

Cybersuicide: The Internet and Suicide

Friday, April 4, 2003

The internet as a widespread source of communication is already having a significant influence in medicine and psychiatry. Although the internet has great potential in psychiatric education, clinical care and research, its impact on social issues should not be underestimated. First, the internet as a means of communication may encourage suicidal behavior by depicting networks in which suicide may be common. Second, some internet websites may discourage people with mental illness from seeking psychiatric help, condone suicide and forbid entry to anyone offering to discourage users from committing suicide. On the contrary, the internet could be a resource to help a potentially suicidal person get help. The internet could be used to identify and communicate with those at risk of suicide by encouraging self-disclosure. The internet is a powerful communication tool that can be used to benefit suicide patients if used appropriately.

Dr. Alao obtained his MD degree at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria in 1983 and obtained his Master's in Mental Health Studies from Guy Hospital, London, in 1995. He completed his first psychiatry residency training at the University of Oxford, England, in 1996 and became a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, United Kingdom (MRCPsych). After he completed his second psychiatric residency training at SUNY Upstate Medical University in 1998, he joined the faculty as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Medical Director of the Inpatient Unit. He is board certified in psychiatry and administrative psychiatry. Dr. Alao's interests are in psychogeriatrics, the interface of psychiatry and medicine, chronic pain, sickle cell disease and the relationship between psychiatry and the media. He has published over 50 articles.

References:

Samuel M.Y. Ho, Ph.D.

Computer Usage and its Relationship with Adolescent Lifestyle in Hong Kong

Friday, April 4, 2003

Samuel M.Y. Ho is an Associate Professor of the Department of Psychology and the Associate Director of the Centre on Behavior Health of the University of Hong Kong. He also has founded the University of Hong Kong -Tsinghua University Joint Research Center for Psychological Counseling with the support of a research grant from the University of Hong Kong.  Dr. Ho’s research interests lie in the area of health and clinical psychology, especially in lifestyle appraisals and positive gains after traumatic experience. He is also interested in treatment effectiveness and indigenous psychotherapy. Besides journal articles, Ho has edited two books and was the invited speakers and keynote speakers in many conferences on topics related to his areas of research.

Drawing from his published study on the same topic (Journal of Adolescent Health, 29, 258-266), Dr. Ho will first describe the patterns of computer usage among adolescents in Hong Kong. Then he will present data on the relations between computer usage and lifestyles in his study. He will show that computer users tend to engage in social-physical activities more frequently and have higher social support than non-users.  But among computer users, the amount of time spent daily on the computer is not associated with a sedentary lifestyle.  Instead, patterns of computer usage are more related to lifestyle and the relationship is moderated by gender.  The presentation will argue that the patterns of computer usage need to be taken into consideration when studying the relationships between computer usage and physical-psychological well-being of individuals.

Wenda K. Bauchspies, Ph.D.

Frustration Mounts, Happy Compromise Reached, Blow Out: Computers and their Humans

Friday, April 4, 2003

Dr. Bauchspies is a faculty member in the STS Program of Penn State University, and the coordinator of the STS Graduate Studies. Her research and publications are in the areas of sociology and anthropology of science and knowledge, women's studies, African studies, and education in transnational contexts. Her latest project explores the roles of emotions in scientific inquiry. She is an interdisciplinary/international scholar who focuses on issues of knowledge, power, difference, and gender. Her recent publications have appeared in in Cultural Dynamics ;Social Epistemology ;Science, Technology and Society; Knowledge and Society; Science as Culture; and Communication and Cognition.

Her presentation will explore notions of emotions and rationality through a discussion of what computers endure at the hands of their humans. Specifically, she will look at how notions of emotion and rationality get played out in computer human interactions. The goal of her presentation is to articulate some of the hidden assumptions of computer usage and the pathways that they create for both user and used.