Browsing by Subject "Cell phones"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Can Text Messages Increase Empathy and Prosocial Behavior? The Development and Initial Validation of Text to Connect
    (PLOS, 2015-09-10) Konrath, Sara H.; Falk, Emily; Fuhrel-Forbis, Andrea; Liu, Mary; Swain, James; Tolman, Richard; Cunningham, Rebecca; Walton, Maureen; School of Philanthropy
    To what extent can simple mental exercises cause shifts in empathic habits? Can we use mobile technology to make people more empathic? It may depend on how empathy is measured. Scholars have identified a number of different facets and correlates of empathy. This study is among the first to take a comprehensive, multidimensional approach to empathy to determine how empathy training could affect these different facets and correlates. In doing so, we can learn more about empathy and its multifaceted nature. Participants (N = 90) were randomly assigned to receive either an empathy-building text message program ( Text to Connect ) or one of two control conditions (active versus passive). Respondents completed measures of dispositional empathy (i.e. self-perceptions of being an empathic person), affective empathy (i.e. motivations to help, immediate feelings of empathic concern), and prosocial behavior (i.e. self-reports and observer-reports) at baseline, and then again after the 14 day intervention period. We found that empathy-building messages increased affective indicators of empathy and prosocial behaviors, but actually decreased self-perceptions of empathy, relative to control messages. Although the brief text messaging intervention did not consistently impact empathy-related personality traits, it holds promise for the use of mobile technology for changing empathic motivations and behaviors.
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    A Case Study of Mississippi State Penitentiary’s Managed Access Technology
    (2015-08) Grommon, Eric; Carter, Jeremy G.; Frantz, Fred; Harris, Phil
    Managed access technology allows the completion of authorized calls placed from approved phone numbers (numbers that have been vetted and entered into a database) while blocking calls to or from devices or numbers that have not been pre-approved. This process is often referred to as “white-listing.“ The overall conclusion of this study is that managed access technology does capture a large quantity of cellular transmissions, but it is impossible to determine the rate with which attempted calls or texts successfully elude detection by the system. Even if a hypothetical rate of successful transmission detection was only 40 percent, however, that 40 percent would provide a substantial value-added effect to combating contraband cell phones. Thus, the decision about whether or not to use managed access technology is whether its possibly limited impact (blocking less than 100 percent of contraband calls) is sufficient to warrant the cost of installing and maintaining the managed access system. A series of interviews and teleconferences, in addition to the secondary analysis of managed-access system data, were used to produce a fundamental understanding of managed access technology operations, identify challenges and lessons learned, and develop a baseline of contraband cell phone activity. This report acknowledges that the study did not attempt to quantify potential vulnerabilities or manipulations of managed access systems. Although such an evaluation would be beneficial, it was beyond the scope of this study. 18 figures, 13 tables, 40 references, and appended examples of contraband cell phone activity, MSP managed access system infrastructure, and evaluation protocols
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    The Impact of Information Technology on Patient Engagement and Health Behavior Change: A Systematic Review of the Literature
    (JMIR, 2016) Sawesi, Suhila; Rashrash, Mohamed; Phalakornkule, Kanitha; Carpenter, Janet S.; Jones, Josette F.; Department of BioHealth Informatics, School of Informatics and Computing
    Background: Advancements in information technology (IT) and its increasingly ubiquitous nature expand the ability to engage patients in the health care process and motivate health behavior change. Objective: Our aim was to systematically review the (1) impact of IT platforms used to promote patients' engagement and to effect change in health behaviors and health outcomes, (2) behavior theories or models applied as bases for developing these interventions and their impact on health outcomes, (3) different ways of measuring health outcomes, (4) usability, feasibility, and acceptability of these technologies among patients, and (5) challenges and research directions for implementing IT platforms to meaningfully impact patient engagement and health outcomes. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar were searched for studies published from 2000 to December 2014. Two reviewers assessed the quality of the included papers, and potentially relevant studies were retrieved and assessed for eligibility based on predetermined inclusion criteria. Results: A total of 170 articles met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed in detail. Overall, 88.8% (151/170) of studies showed positive impact on patient behavior and 82.9% (141/170) reported high levels of improvement in patient engagement. Only 47.1% (80/170) referenced specific behavior theories and only 33.5% (57/170) assessed the usability of IT platforms. The majority of studies used indirect ways to measure health outcomes (65.9%, 112/170). Conclusions: In general, the review has shown that IT platforms can enhance patient engagement and improve health outcomes. Few studies addressed usability of these interventions, and the reason for not using specific behavior theories remains unclear. Further research is needed to clarify these important questions. In addition, an assessment of these types of interventions should be conducted based on a common framework using a large variety of measurements; these measurements should include those related to motivation for health behavior change, long-standing adherence, expenditure, satisfaction, and health outcomes. [JMIR Med Inform 2016;4(1):e1]