Why we should fix inequalities in science
Science is a source of progress and the best hope for the future of mankind. With a world population reaching seven billion individuals and a growing consumption of (increasingly scarce) natural resources, the only chance that we have to avoid the collapse of civilization caused by our own expansion is to find new strategies for sustainable development. But addressing this challenge will be impossible without the support of scientific and technological innovation.Thanks to scientific research, we have conquered space, developed therapies for devastating pathologies, and explored the mysteries of matter. Science is illumina...
Source: Positive Technology Journal - January 2, 2017 Category: Information Technology Tags: Blue sky Source Type: blogs
The Impact of Virtual Reality on Chronic Pain
Authors: Jones T, Moore T, Choo JAbstract. The treatment of chronic pain could benefit from additional non-opioid interventions. Virtual reality (VR) has been shown to be effective in decreasing pain for procedural or acute pain but to date there have been few studies on its use in chronic pain. The present study was an investigation of the impact of a virtual reality application for chronic pain. Thirty (30) participants with various chronic pain conditions were offered a five-minute session using a virtual reality application called Cool! Participants were asked about their pain using a 0-10 visual analog scale rati...
Source: Positive Technology Journal - January 2, 2017 Category: Information Technology Tags: Virtual worlds Source Type: blogs
Effects of Smart-Tablet-Based Neurofeedback Training on Cognitive Function in Children with Attention Problems
This study suggests that the smart-tablet-based neurofeedback training program might improve cognitive function in children with attention problems. (Source: Positive Technology Journal)
Source: Positive Technology Journal - January 2, 2017 Category: Information Technology Tags: Biofeedback & neurofeedback Source Type: blogs
Transforming Experience: The Potential of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality for Enhancing Personal and Clinical Change
Front. Psychiatry, 30 September 2016http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2016.00164Giuseppe Riva, Rosa M. Ba ños, Cristina Botella, Fabrizia Mantovani and Andrea GaggioliDuring life, many personal changes occur. These include changing house, school, work, and even friends and partners. However, the daily experience shows clearly that, in some situations, subjects are unable to change even if they want to. The recent advances in psychology and neuroscience are now providing a better view of personal change, the change affecting our assumptive world: (a) the focus of personal change is reducing the distance between self and real...
Source: Positive Technology Journal - October 15, 2016 Category: Information Technology Tags: Research tools Technology & spirituality Telepresence virtual presence Transformative Experience Design Virtual worlds Source Type: blogs
Pfizer Launches New " Moodivator " App to Help Support, Encourage and Motivate People with Depression
has launched a new app, Moodivator, to help motivate and encourage the millions of adults who experience depression. Depression is one of the most common mental health disorders in the United States, as an estimated one in 15 adults (6.7%) experience at least one major depressive episode in any given year.Living with depression can feel isolating, overwhelming and impact all aspects of a person's life. An increasing number of patients, especially those who suffer from chronic conditions like depression, are turning to their smartphones to supplement treatment they receive. The new app aims to provide ongoing motivation in ...
Source: Positive Technology Journal - September 19, 2016 Category: Information Technology Tags: Positive App Source Type: blogs
New book on Human Computer Confluence - FREE PDF!
Two good news for Positive Technology followers.1) Our new book on Human Computer Confluence is out!2) It can be downloaded for free hereHuman-computer confluence refers to an invisible, implicit, embodied or even implanted interaction between humans and system components. New classes of user interfaces are emerging that make use of several sensors and are able to adapt their physical properties to the current situational context of users.A key aspect of human-computer confluence is its potential for transforming human experience in the sense of bending, breaking and blending the barriers between the real, the virtual and ...
Source: Positive Technology Journal - June 21, 2016 Category: Information Technology Tags: AI & robotics Augmented/mixed reality Biofeedback neurofeedback Blue sky Brain training cognitive enhancement Brain-computer interface Cognitive Informatics Cyberart Cybertherapy Emotional computing Enactive interfaces Future Source Type: blogs
From User Experience (UX) to Transformative User Experience (T-UX)
In 1999, Joseph Pine and James Gilmore wrote a seminal book titled “The Experience Economy” (Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA) that theorized the shift from a service-based economy to an experience-based economy.According to these authors, in the new experience economy the goal of the purchase is no longer to own a product (be it a good or service), but to use it in order to enjoy a compelling experience. An experience, thus, is a whole-new type of offer: in contrast to commodities, goods and services, it is designed to be as personal and memorable as possible. Just as in a theatrical representation, companies...
Source: Positive Technology Journal - May 26, 2016 Category: Information Technology Tags: Augmented/mixed reality Biofeedback & neurofeedback Blue sky Brain stimulation Brain-computer interface Ethics of technology Future interfaces ICT and complexity Telepresence virtual presence Virtual worlds Wearable mobile Source Type: blogs
Virtual reality painting tool
(Source: Positive Technology Journal)
Source: Positive Technology Journal - May 24, 2016 Category: Information Technology Tags: Blue sky Future interfaces Virtual worlds Source Type: blogs
Computational Personality?
The field of artificial intelligence (AI) has undergone a dramatic evolution in the last years. The impressive advances in this field have inspired several leaders in the scientific and technological community - including Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk - to raise concerns about a potential domination of machines over humans.While many people still think about AI as robots with human-like characteristics, this field is much broader and include a number of diverse tools and applications, from SIRI to self-driving cars, to autonomous weapons. Among the key innovations in the AI field, IBM’s Watson computer system is certainl...
Source: Positive Technology Journal - May 24, 2016 Category: Information Technology Tags: AI & robotics Big Data Blue sky Computational psychology Source Type: blogs
Incentivized competitions boost innovation
The last decade has witnessed a tremendous advance in technological innovations. This is also thanks to the growing diffusion of open innovation platforms, which have leveraged on the explosion of social network and digital media to promote a new culture of “bottom-up” discovery and invention.An example of the potential of open innovation to revolutionize technology and science is provided by online crowdfunding sites for creative projects, such Kickstarter and Indiegogo. In the last few years, these online platforms have supported thousands of projects, including extremely innovative products such as the headset Oculu...
Source: Positive Technology Journal - May 24, 2016 Category: Information Technology Tags: Blue sky Creativity and computers Source Type: blogs
Using Big Data in Cyberpsychology
Thanks to the pervasive diffusion of social media and the increasing affordability of smartphone and wearable sensors, psychologists can gather and analyse massive quantities of data concerning people behaviours and moods in naturalistic situations.The availability of “big data” presents psychologists with unprecedented professional and scientific opportunities, but also with new challenges. On the business side, for example, a growing number of tech-companies are hiring psychologists to help make sense of huge data sets collected online from their actual and prospective customers.The job description of a “data psych...
Source: Positive Technology Journal - May 24, 2016 Category: Information Technology Tags: Big Data Computational psychology Pervasive computing Research tools Self-Tracking Source Type: blogs
SignAloud: Gloves that Transliterate Sign Language into Text and Speech
(Source: Positive Technology Journal)
Source: Positive Technology Journal - May 24, 2016 Category: Information Technology Tags: Future interfaces Wearable & mobile Source Type: blogs
Predictive Technologies: Can Smart Tools Augment the Brain's Predictive Abilities?
Pezzullo, G., D'Ausilio, A., Gaggioli, A. Frontiers in Neuroscience 10(186) · May 2016 Abstract. The ability of “looking into the future”—namely, the capacity of anticipating future states of the environment or of the body—represents a fundamental function of human (and animal) brains. A goalkeeper who tries to guess the ball’s direction; a chess player who attempts to anticipate the opponent’s next move; or a man-in-love who tries to calculate what are the chances of her saying yes—in all these cases, people are simulating possible future states of the world, in order to maximize ...
Source: Positive Technology Journal - April 27, 2016 Category: Information Technology Tags: AI & robotics Augmented/mixed reality Blue sky Future interfaces ICT and complexity Information visualization Neurotechnology neuroinformatics Source Type: blogs
A S.E.T.I. for psychology
The recent debate about the issue of reproducibility in psychology lead me to question whether 21th century scientific psychology should still regard the “conventional” experimental approach as the prime method of inquiry.Even most controlled lab experiments produce results that are difficult to generalize to real-life, because of the artificiality of the setting. On the other hand, field and natural experiments are higher in ecological validity (since they are carried out in real-world situations) but are hard to control and replicate. Not to mention that most psychology research is consistently done primarily on unde...
Source: Positive Technology Journal - February 18, 2016 Category: Information Technology Tags: Blue sky Source Type: blogs
3D addiction
As many analysts predict, next-generation virtual reality technology promises to change our lives.From manufacturing to medicine, from entertainment to learning, there is no economic or cultural sector that is immune from the VR revolution.According to a recent report from Digi-Capital, the augmented/virtual reality market could hit $150B revenue by 2020, with augmented reality projected to reach $120B and virtual reality $30B.Still, there are a lot of unanswered questions concerning the potential negative effects of virtual reality on the human brain. For example, we know very little about the consequences of prolonged im...
Source: Positive Technology Journal - February 14, 2016 Category: Information Technology Tags: Virtual worlds Source Type: blogs
