Nov 12 2013
Celebrating 16 Years of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking (CYBER)

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
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Dear Colleague,

It is with great pride that we celebrate the completion of our 16th year atCyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking (CYBER). As Editor-in-Chief, I have had the pleasure of seeing both CYBER’s inception and continued growth. Originally focused more on theoretical issues and ‘what ifs’ of technology and healthcare, the Journal’s studies continue to show that adding advanced technologies can increase efficacy in many areas of diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of both cognitive and physical disorders. With the advent of new social networking tools, the Journal continues to focus on the impact (both positive and negative) of social networking tools such as Twitterand Facebook on individual behavior, relationships, and society as a whole. We continue to attract rigorous scientific studies that explore the impact of advanced technologies. With the addition of our new editors from Europe and Asia, we continue to emphasize the global nature of Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.

In 2013, we also took another important step forward, becoming the official journal of the International Association of CyberPsychology, Training, & Rehabilitation (iACToR). The Journal of CyberTherapy & Rehabilitation merged with us and as a result, authors conducting rigorous studies now have a higher-profile home for their articles. In addition, CYBER is the official journal of the CyberPsychology, CyberTherapy & Social Networking Conference, now in its 19th year, offering yet another opportunity for dissemination of our Journal’s research to a wider international audience.

We realize the importance placed upon publication in a scientifically rigorous journal, with Impact Factor and indexing being two key elements for our academic partners. We continue to see an increase in downloads, reflecting the importance others place upon our publication as a must-have information source. The Journal is widely accessible in key libraries and institutions in over 170 countries around the world. As well, the Journal continues to attract significant attention from the international media—the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Forbes Magazine, ABC news, and other prestigious media outlets.

Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking is proud to be a part of the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers family of journals. We continue to seek out manuscripts on focused topics, both as rapid communications and original articles. As always we thank you for your continued belief in our mission, for your subscriptions as well as your submissions.

Best Wishes,
Brenda K. Wiederhold
Brenda K. Wiederhold, PhD, MBA, BCIA
Editor-in-Chief
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Sep 4 2013
CYBER18 Highlights
The 18th annual CyberPsychology, CyberTherapy & Social Networking Conference was held in Brussels, Belgium. From June 30 – July 2, 2013. The official conference of the International Association of Cyberpsychology, Training & Rehabilitation (iACToR) hosted prominent academic representatives from 15 countries including The Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Canada, Portugal and the United States. iACToR’s Secretary General and conference host Professor Brenda K. Wiederhold, was the Conference Chair. Workshop chair Stéphane Bouchard, Ph.D. began the preconference workshops on June 30th. Many attendees joined in on the interactive sessions, which included a wide array of topics including electronic health coaching, virtual reality for mental health, and the relationship between social networks and healthcare. The workshops were a great success and allowed for a lively exchange of ideas and research objectives.

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CYPSY18’s theme, Where Healthcare & Technology Connect, examined applications of advanced technologies being used in training, therapy, rehabilitation, and education for the improvement of the quality and availability of healthcare. Adding to this, attendees talked and shared valuable information about the influence of new technologies and how they impacted behavior and society through the use of positive technology, healthy ageing and well being. The conference shed light on a fairly new phenomenon in the healthcare industry – the imprint of social networking and how these platforms shape individual behavior, interpersonal relationships, and society. The last concept discussed at the conference was the introduction of new technologies and new terms. CYPSY18 studied the psychological aspects of new areas influenced by technology, such as cyberstalking.
For the second year in a row, Robert Madelin officially began the conference after Professor Brenda K. Wiederhold’s welcoming remarks. The Director-General for DG CONNECT discussed “Cyber Everything in Horizon 2020”, in which he described how the program will, in the near future, generate innovation, competitiveness and funding for top level research in the European Union.
The second keynote speaker was Richard M. Satava, Professor Emeritus of Surgery at the University of Washington, Seattle and this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. Professor Satava spoke on “Advanced Technologies That Will Change Behaviors – Humanoid Robots, 3-D Printers, and Other Extraordinary Discoveries”, a highly interesting talk on topics surrounding the future of progressive scientific and technological methods.
The first day concluded with a poster session involving Ph.D candidates and professional researchers alike. This was an opportunity for scientists to share their ideas with each other and with interested spectators. In a parallel session, the Cyberarium allowed developers and researchers to present their prototypes to prospective buyers, members of the media, and others in the scientific community. This year, the EU-funded INTERSTRESS project and the Oculus Rift, an up and coming consumer priced virtual reality headset, were among the most popular displays.

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Two Ph.D. students were presented with the Young Minds Research Award; Fillipo La Paglia and Claudia Carissoli, who presented posters entitled “Neuropsychological Assessment through NeuroVirtual Reality in OCD Patients” and “Mindfulness and New Technologies: Creating and Testing a Brief Protocol to Reduce Stress”, respectively. The New Investigator Award was given to Sungkun Cho for his work in “Body Swapping Training for Patients with CRPS Using a Virtual Body”.
Those of us at the CyberTherapy & Rehabilitation Magazine would like to give a special thanks to all of the professional individuals and student participants who made the conference possible. CYPSY18’s Scientific Committee, Professors Willem-Paul Brinkman, Jose Gutierrez Maldonado, and Giuseppe Riva were people key to the conferences intellectual nature and were instrumental in generating feedback within the community. We would also like to sincerely thank the many institutions and organizations that sponsored the event. Without the support and contributions of the European Commission, eHealth Week, Hanyang University Institute of Aging Society, International Association of CyberPsychology, Training, & Rehabilitation  (iACToR), Interactive Media Institute, INTERSTRESS, ISfTeH, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Mary Ann Libert, Inc. Publishers, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Universite du Quebec en Outaouais, Virtual Reality Medical Center (VRMC) and the Virtual Reality Medical Institute (VRMI) the event would not have been able to take place.

 

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Jun 14 2013
From Clinical to Cloud
In September 2012, the 17th Annual CyberPsychology & CyberTherapy Conference (CYBER17) was held. With some of the restrictions to growth acknowledged as early as 2000, the International Association of
CyberPsychology, Training, & Rehabilitation (iACToR) community has become acutely aware of the need to transform itself to quicken the pace of progress. Suggestions made around that time period still remain and continued to be amongst the discussions at CYBER17. In 2000 perhaps these difficulties were acceptable; however, with a multitude of technological advancements, and 12 additional years of research funding, these deficiencies need no longer continue. One remaining stumbling block is the lack of interoperability: the applications and software content are available, but the infrastructure is still lacking to allow widespread deployment of these tools.
The need for an overall shift from institutional healthcare settings to everyday environments, and from treatment to a preventive approach based on new personalised healthcare technologies, is widely recognised and made available by the advancement of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The Strategic Approach for the EU for 2008-2013 stated that ‘health is the greatest wealth’ and that ‘health is important for the wellbeing of individuals and society, but a healthy population is also a prerequisite for economic productivity and prosperity’. The strategy of European healthcare envisions innovation coupled with new technologies as the solution to these problems.
A wide variety of health promotion/disease prevention (wellness) multimedia content has been tested and validated in pilot studies and clinical trials. In addition, virtual reality content for multiple disorders ranging from obesity to posttraumatic stress disorder to cognitive and physical rehabilitation has shown clear efficacy. The development cycle for these technologies involved a migration process beginning with first designing and developing the solutions on desktop platforms, with input from end-users, clinicians and technical design staff. Once pilot studies and randomised, controlled clinical trials were performed, then the technologies were ported to more mobile platforms. Now the challenge is to move from the current mobile devices to a cloud-based solution for even easier access and more widely distributed treatment solutions.
It is critical that a platform now be put in place to deploy these tools for widespread use by stakeholders who may benefit from them; in some cases, these stakeholders will be individual citizens, and in other cases, healthcare providers. In order for this to occur, however, interoperability is essential. An infrastructure must be implemented that will allow applications to work without the necessity of the patient, trainee or clinician/researcher purchasing a separate peripheral device, specific computer or software package to run each app.
As Vice President for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes said in a September 2012 interview on the EU Commission’s strategy on cloud computing, good reasons to be in the cloud include interoperability, data portability and reversibility. After the interoperability hurdle has been surmounted by the adoption of cloud computing, the prices of apps can come down as development costs shrink. Secure protocols for transmission of patient data in the cloud are coming online. Therefore, the primary remaining barrier to adoption will be clinician training and patient education, in which the EU has the opportunity to play an important role.
The full article can be read here: From Clinical to Cloud – Dr_B.Wiederhold
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Jun 4 2012
2012 Summer Editorial

Journal of CyberTherapy & Rehabilitation

Summer 2012, Volume 5, Issue 2

 

 EDITORIAL

Welcome to the Summer 2012 issue of the Journal of CyberTher- apy & Rehabilitation (JCR). As you know, JCR is one of the two official journals of the International Association of CyberPsychology, Training & Rehabilitation (iACToR). Now in its 17th year, the annual international CyberPsychology & CyberTherapy Conference (CYBER 17) is the official conference of iACToR. The CyberPsychology, Behavior, & Social Networking Journal (CYBER), CyberTherapy & Rehabilitation (C&R) Magazine, and JCR, form to create our Combined Communications Platform. The journals, conference, magazine, and association combine into one powerful platform to address previous information deficits in the utilization of advanced technologies in healthcare which strives to speak with a united voice to inform and educate stakeholders about the uses of technologies in healthcare, as well as how tech- nologies are impacting behavior and society.

This year the Interactive Media Institute, in collaboration with the Virtual Reality Medical Institute, is organizing the International Association of CyberPsychology, Training, & Rehabilitation’s (iACToR) 17th Annual CyberPsychology & CyberTherapy Con- ference (CYBER17), scheduled for September 25-28, 2012 at the European Parlimanet in Brussels.

The Annual CyberPsychology & CyberTherapy Conference began as a symposium that featured presentations dealing mostly with conceptual matters and future possibilities at the Medicine Meets Virtual Reality Conference. CYBER17 has now grown to a full- scale conference with presentations that demonstrate controlled clinical trials with unique applications of cutting edge technologies that improve the access and increase the quality of healthcare.

CYBER17’s focus areas include:
1. The Impact of Technologies as Tools
CYBER17 will continue its examination of the exciting applications of advanced technologies being used in training, therapy, rehabilitation, and education for the improvement of the quality and availability of healthcare for people around the globe.

2. The Influence of New Technologies
CYBER17 will further its investigation into how new technologies are influencing behavior and society through the use of positive technology, healthy ageing and well-being.

3. The Imprint of Social Networking
CYBER17 will embrace, as it did in 2011, the exploration of social networking tools on individual behavior and societal relations.

4. The Introduction of New Technologies and New Terms
CYBER17 will study the psychological aspects of new areas in- fluenced by technology such as cyberfashion, cyberadvertising and cyberstalking.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who are helping to make this year’s conference possible through their tireless energy and drive this year’s Scientific Chairs, Professors Rosa Marie Baños, Willem-Paul Brinkman and Giuseppe Riva; Exhibit Chairs Professors Evangelos Bekiaris and Luciano Gamberini; Workshop Chair Professor Stéphane Bouchard; Cyberarium Chairs Professors Mariano Alcañiz and Andrea Gaggioli; and Website Chair Professor Sun Kim. Many thanks to the Scientific Committee, made up of prominent researchers from around the world, as well as all of the presenters and attendees. Finally, my gratitude to James Cullen, Emily Butcher, Tanisha Croad and Pierre Schifflers for overseeing the Conference Coordination, to Chelsie Boyd for editing related materials, and to the teams at Interactive Media Institute, Virtual Reality Medical Center, and Virtual Realty Medical Institute for their time and contributions to all facets of the conference.

To our sponsors and supporters, who continue to support our vi- sion and help make it a reality, a warm and heartfelt thank you – Brussels Capital Region, Engineering Systems Technologies GmbH & Co. KG, the European Commission, Hanyang Univer- sity, International Association of CyberPsychology, Training, & Rehabilitation (iACToR), Interactive Media Institute (IMI), INTERSTRESS, ISfTeH, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Publishers, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO), the Virtual Reality Medical Center (VRMC), the Virtual Reality Medical Institute (VRMI) and Visit Brussels. As integral parts of our Combined Communications Platform, the CyberPsychology & CyberTher- apy Conference Conference series will continue to work together with iACToR, JCR, and C&R to inform and educate industry, ac- ademia, and government officials and the general public on the explosive growth of advanced technologies for therapy, training, education, prevention and rehabilitation.

As in previous conferences, this year’s conference will be hosting an interactive exhibit area, the Cyberarium, which allows conference attendees and members of the press to try new technologies firsthand. To recognize outstanding achievements by students and new researchers, as well as lifetime achievement for a senior researcher, we will also be hosting awards during the conference and announcing the 2012-2013 iACToR officers during the General Assembly. Pre-conference workshops will focus on advanced topics including Brain Computer Interfaces, VR for cognitive assessment and rehabilitation and finally VR treatment manuals for clinical applications.
As we approach CYBER17 with excitement, we begin too to look toward next year’s conference, CyberPsychology & CyberTherapy 18, to be held in June 2013. Thank you again for your commitment to the evolution of healthcare!

 

 

Brenda K. Wiederhold, Ph.D., MBA, BCIA

Editor-in-Chief, Journal of CyberTherapy & Rehabilitation

Virtual Reality Medical Institute

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Jun 6 2011
2011 Summer Editorial

Journal of CyberTherapy & Rehabilitation

Summer 2011, Volume 4, Issue 2

 

 EDITORIAL

Welcome to the Summer 2011 issue of the Journal of CyberTherapy & Rehabilitation (JCR). As you know, JCR is one of the two official journals of the International Association of CyberPsychology, Training & Rehabilitation (iACToR). Now in its 16th year, the annual international CyberPsychology & CyberTherapy Conference (CT16) agreed, in 2009, to become the official conference of iACToR. So, along with CyberPsychology, Behavior, & Social Networking Journal (CYBER), CyberTherapy & Rehabilitation (C&R) Magazine, and JCR, we celebrate our Combined Communications Platform. The journals, conference, magazine, and association combine into one powerful platform to address previous information deficits in the utilization of advanced technologies in healthcare. We will strive to speak with a united voice to inform and educate stakeholders about the uses of technologies in healthcare, as well as how technologies are impacting behavior and society.

This year we are proud to be holding CT in Canada. Organized by the Interactive Media Institute (IMI), a 501c3 nonprofit organization, in cooperation with Université du Québec en Outoauais (UQO), CT16 is being held June 19-22, 2011 in Gatineau, Canada. This venue speaks to the continued growth and collaboration, not just amongst Europe and the U.S., but also amongst researchers and scholars worldwide. This year’s conference theme is two-fold: First, CT16 will explore technologies as enabling tools. This will include the uses of advanced technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) simulations, videogames, telehealth, video-conferencing, the Internet, robotics, brain computer interfaces, wearable computing, non-invasive physiological monitoring devices, in diagnosis, assessment, and prevention of mental and physical disorders. In addition, we will look at interactive media in training, education, rehabilitation, and therapeutic interventions. Second, CT16 will explore the impact of new technologies. CT16 will investigate how new technologies are influencing behavior and society, for example, through healthy ageing initiatives, positive and negative effects of social network- ing tools, and online gaming.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who are helping to make this year’s conference possible through their tireless energy and drive the Co-Organizer and Conference Co-Chair Professor Stéphane Bouchard; this year’s Scientific Chairs, Professors Paul Emmelkamp, Wijnand Ijsselsteijn and Giuseppe Riva; Exhibit Chair Professor Sun Kim; Workshop Chair Pro- fessor Heidi Sveistrup; Cyberarium Chair Geneviève Robillard; and Website Chair Professor Andrea Gaggioli. Many thanks also to the Scientific Committee, made up of prominent researchers from around the world, and the Local Advisory Committee in Gatineau, as well as all of the presenters and attendees. Finally, my gratitude to Geneviève Robillard, Emily Butcher and Jocel Rivera for overseeing the Conference Coordination, to Christina Valenti for editing related materials, and to the teams at Université du Québec en Outaouais, Interactive Media Institute, Virtual Reality Medical Center, and Virtual Realty Medical Institute for their time and contributions to all facets of the conference.

To our sponsors, who continue to support our vision and help make it a reality, a warm and heartfelt thank you – 3dVia, Assemblée Nationale du Québec, Canada Research Chair in Clinical Cyberpsychology, Casino LacLeamy, the European Commission Information Society and Media, Gouvernement du Québec, Interactive Media Institute (IMI), International Association of Cy- berPsychology, Training & Rehabilitation (iACToR), INTERSTRESS, In Virtuo, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Publishers, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO), Ville de Gatineau, the Virtual Reality Medical Center (VRMC), the Virtual Reality Medical Institute (VRMI) and WorldViz.

As integral parts of our Combined Communications Platform, the CT Conference series will continue to work together with iACToR, JCR, and C&R to inform and educate industry, academia, and government officials and the general public on the explosive growth of advanced technologies for therapy, training, education, prevention and rehabilitation.

As in previous conferences, this year’s conference will be hosting an interactive exhibit area, the Cyberarium, which allows conference attendees and members of the press to try new technologies firsthand. To recognize outstanding achievements by students and new researchers, as well as lifetime achievement for a senior researcher, we will also be hosting awards during the conference and announcing the 2011-2012 iACToR officers during the General Assembly. Pre-conference workshops will focus on advanced topics including psychotherapeutic applications, brain computer interface devices, and rehabilitation, and there will also be an introduction to VR workshop for those newer to the area.

As we approach CT16 with excitement, we begin too to look toward next year’s conference, CyberPsychology & CyberTherapy 17, to be held in Brussels, Belgium September 12-15, 2012. Thank you again for your commit- ment to the evolution of healthcare!

 

 

Brenda K. Wiederhold, Ph.D., MBA, BCIA

Editor-in-Chief, Journal of CyberTherapy & Rehabilitation

Virtual Reality Medical Institute

Brenda Wiederhold 0 Comments
Jun 1 2010
2010 Summer Editorial

Journal of CyberTherapy & Rehabilitation

Summer 2010, Volume 3, Issue 2

 

 EDITORIAL

Welcome to the Summer 2010 issue of the Journal of Cy- berTherapy & Rehabilitation (JCR). As you know, JCR is one of the two official journals of the International As- sociation of CyberPsychology, Training & Rehabilitation (iACToR). Now in its 15th year, the annual international CyberPsychology & CyberTherapy Conference (CT15) agreed, in 2009, to become the official conference of iACToR. So, along with CyberPsychology, Behavior, & Social Networking Journal (CPB&SN), CyberTherapy & Rehabilitation (C&R) Magazine, and JCR, we cele- brate our Combined Communications Platform. The journals, conference, magazine, and association combine into one powerful platform to address previous informa- tion deficits in the utilization of advanced technologies in healthcare. We will strive to speak with a united voice to inform and educate about the uses of technologies in healthcare, as well as how technologies are impacting behavior and society.

This year we are proud to be holding CT in Asia for the first time. Organized by the Interactive Media Institute (IMI), a 501c3 nonprofit organization, in cooperation with Hanyang University, CT15 is being held June 13- 15, 2010 in Seoul, Korea. This venue speaks to the con- tinued growth and collaboration, not just amongst Europe and America, but also amongst researchers and scholars worldwide. This year’s conference theme is two fold: First, CT15 will explore technologies as enabling tools. This will include the uses of advanced technolo- gies such as virtual reality simulations, videogames, tele- health, video-conferencing, the internet, robotics, brain computer interfaces, wearable computing, non-invasive physiological monitoring devices, in diagnosis, assess- ment, and prevention of mental and physical disorders. In addition, we will look at interactive media in training, education, rehabilitation, and therapeutic interventions. Second, CT15 will explore the impact of new technolo- gies. CT15 will investigate how new technologies are in- fluencing behavior and society through cyberadvertising, cyberfashion, and cyberstalking, to name a few.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who are helping to make this year’s conference possible
through their tireless energy and drive – the Co-Orga- nizer and Conference Co-Chair Professor Sun Kim; this year’s Scientific Chairs, Professors Stéphane Bouchard, José Gutiérrez Maldonado and Giuseppe Riva; Tutorial Chairs, Professor Luciano Gamberini and Alessandra Gorini; Exhibit Chair and Conference Organizer, Profes- sor Jang-Han Lee; Cyberarium Chair Professor Hunter Hoffman; and Technical Chairs Professors Mariano Al- cañiz and Evangelos Bekiaris. Many thanks also to the Scientific Committee, made up of prominent researchers from around the world, and the Local Advisory Commit- tee in Seoul, as well as all of the presenters and attendees. Finally, my gratitude to James Cullen and Jang-Han Lee for overseeing the Conference Coordination, and to the teams at Hanyang University, Interactive Media Institute, Virtual Reality Medical Center, and Virtual Realty Med- ical Institute for their time and contributions to all facets of the conference.

To our sponsors, who continue to support our vision and help make it a reality, a warm and heartfelt thank you – Bionet, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency/ Defense Science Office (DARPA/DSO), the European Commission, DGINFSO, Hanyang University, Institute of Aging Society Silver & u-Health Research Center, the Interactive Media Institute, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Publishers, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, OsteoSys, Université du Québec en Outaouais, the Virtual Reality Medical Center, and the Virtual Reality Medical Insti- tute.

As integral parts of our Combined Communications Plat- form, the CT Conference series will continue to work to- gether with iACToR, JCR, and C&R to educate industry, academia, and government officials on the explosive growth of advanced technologies for therapy, training, education, prevention and rehabilitation.

As in previous conferences, this year’s conference will be hosting an interactive exhibit area, the Cyberarium, which allows conference attendees and members of the press to try new technologies firsthand. To recognize outstanding achievements by students, new researchers, as well as lifetime achievement to a senior researcher, we will also be hosting awards during the conference and announcing the 2010-2011 iACToR officers during the General Assembly. Pre-conference workshops will high- light psychotherapeutic applications, brain computer in- terface devices, rehabilitation for seasoned researchers, and an introduction to VR will be given for those newer in the field.

As we approach CT15 with excitement, we begin too to look toward next year’s conference, CyberPsychology &
CyberTherapy 16, to be held in Gatineau, Canada on June 20-22, 2011. Thank you again for your commitment to the evolution of healthcare!

 

 

Brenda K. Wiederhold, Ph.D., MBA, BCIA

Editor-in-Chief, Journal of CyberTherapy & Rehabilitation

Virtual Reality Medical Institute

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