Aug 12 2014
Press Release – CYPSY19 Award Winners

At the International Association of CyberPsychology, Training & Rehabilitation’s (iACToR) 19th Annual CyberPsychology, CyberTherapy & Social Networking Conference (CYPSY19), awards are presented to pay tribute to individuals for their outstanding achievements.  Past recipients include Professor Dr. Stephane Bouchard (2005), Professor Dr. Brenda K. Wiederhold (2006), Professor Dr. Giuseppe Riva (2007), Professor Dr. Cristina Botella (2008), Professor Dr. Hunter Hoffman (2009), Professor Dr. Sun I. Kim (2010) and Professor Dr. Mark D. Wiederhold (2011), Professor Dr. Mariano Alcaniz (2012) and Professor Richard M. Satava. (2013).

To celebrate more than a decade of exciting advances in cybertherapy as well as the growth of the CyberPsychology, CyberTherapy & Social Networking Conference itself, we are proud to announce Prof Andrea Gaggioli as the 10th Annual CyberTherapy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. This award, the highest given by our community, has a tradition of honoring a person who has demonstrated outstanding lifetime achievements in the fields of advanced technologies and healthcare.

Prof. Gaggioli is Research Professor of General Psychology at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy; Senior Researcher of the Interactive Communication and Ergonomics of New Technologies – ICE-NET – Lab. at the Catholic University of Milan, Italy, and Deputy Head Researcher at the Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Laboratory – ATN-P Lab., Istituto Auxologico Italiano. For over ten years, Prof. Gaggioli has investigated the potential role of pervasive technologies in promoting mental and physical wellbeing. His involvement with those research areas has led to the co-authoring of over fifty articles in refereed journals, including these papers published in “Science”: (i) Gaggioli A., Riva G., Working the Crowd, Science. 2008 Sep 12;321(5895):1443; (ii) Gorini A, Gaggioli A, Riva G. Virtual Worlds, Real Healing. Science. 2007 Dec 7;318(5856):1549. For his scientific work, Prof. Gaggioli received several international acknowledgements, including the 2005 Annual Prize of the European Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine (http://www.aemr.eu/). In addition, he has recently completed coordinating the European Commission funded INTERSTRESS project (Interreality in the Management and Treatment of Stress-Related Disorders). This STREP project explored the potential of a new human-computer paradigm – “Interreality” – for the management of psychological stress.

The aim of the Clinical Cyberpsychology New Investigator Award is to reward the presentation of strong methodological studies at the CyberPsychology, CyberTherapy & Social Networking conference. This year we are delighted announce Dr. Fillipo La Pagaila as the conference award recipient. Dr. La Pagaila is an Italian psychologist who received his Ph.D. in Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorder at the University of Palermo with the experimental thesis on “Assessment of Executive Functions in Patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by Virtual Reality.” Currently Dr. La Pagaila works at the Department of Experimental Biomedicine and Clinical Neuroscience, University of Palermo, Italy.

The main area of interest for Dr. La Pagaila is the application of Virtual Reality and media technologies within the clinical context. His current work includes the “Assessment of Executive Functions in Patients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder by NeuroVirtual Reality and the “Cognitive Rehabilitation in Schizophrenic Patients by Virtual Reality”. In addition, since 2004 Dr. La Pagaila has been planning and conducting educational robotics laboratories in primary and secondary school which are aimed at the improvement of mathematical logical thought and problem-solving strategies.

Dr. La Pagaila is the author of several scientific papers published in the area of methods and psychology assessment tools and the use of virtual reality and the Internet in medicine and  training. In 2013, La Paglia received “The 2013 Young Minds Research Award and since 2008, he has participated at each CYPSY conference.

To showcase outstanding achievements in a student poster submission to the CYPSY Conference, the Young Minds Research Awards, sponsored by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Publishers, are presented to those projects judged to have the greatest potential to contribute to the innovative field of cyberpsychology, cybertherapy, training, & rehabilitation.

We are proud to announce our two poster winners, Jonathan Shalom from Israel and the lab of Soledad Quero from Spain. Mr. Shalom is currently a Ph.D candidate from Ben-Gurion University in Israel and presented his work ‘Social Anxiety and Physiological Arousal in Computer Mediated vs. Face-to-Face CommPatients’. Soledad Quero and her students from the Universitat Jaume I in Spain presented two posters: Expectations and Satisfaction with Traditional CBT versus CBT supported by ICTs & An Online Self-Applied Program for Drug Use Prevention in Adolescents (PREVEN-TIC FORMATIVO): the Professionals’ Assessment.

Congratulations and thank you to the winners for their dedication and passion in moving CYPSY forward.

Brenda Wiederhold 0 Comments
May 12 2014
Clinical Psychologist Discusses Pioneering Innovation in Virtual Reality Therapy for New Museum Exhibition

May 16, 2012, Silver Spring, Md.: Brenda K. Wiederhold, Ph.D., MBA, BCIA, executive vice president of the Virtual Reality Medical Center, recently shared stories of using virtual reality technology to treat soldiers suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder, for a new multimedia exhibit installation at the National Museum of Health and Medicine.

In a video interview, Wiederhold explained that her organization was originally using virtual reality computer simulation technology to treat patients with phobias, panic disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder from being involved in motor vehicle accidents. However when soldiers began being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, the technology was adapted to not only treat soldiers coming back from the battlefields, but also to prepare troops getting ready to go into battle.

 

To see the full article, click here.

Brenda Wiederhold 0 Comments
Nov 12 2013
Celebrating 16 Years of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking (CYBER)

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
View Email in a browser
Journal Cover


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
Brenda Wiederhold 0 Comments
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.

C18 Audience

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.

C18 Smaller

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.

 

c18 group small

 

Brenda Wiederhold 0 Comments
Jul 29 2013
Belgian Economic Mission to the United States

Brussels, Belgium (June 11, 2013) – The Virtual Reality Medical Institute (VRMI) was selected to participate in the recent Belgian Economic Mission to the United States, organized by the Belgian Foreign Trade Agency in collaboration with the regional institutions Wallonia Foreign Trade & Investment Agency, Brussels Invest & Export and Flanders Investment & Trade and FPS Foreign Affairs.  The event, held from June 2 to June 9, 2013,was presided over by Prince Philippe of Belgium, and consisted of 393 participants, bringing together companies from various business sectors to expand their influence to the U.S. and promote trade between Belgium and the U.S.

 

Virtual Reality Medical Institute (VRMI) uses simulation technologies in three main areas: 1) treating patients with stress, anxiety, and trauma, 2) training for military medical and civilian populations, and 3) enhancing medical educational programs. A Belgian corporation established in December 2006 with affiliates in the U.S. and China, VRMI principals are world leaders in applying VR technology in combination with physiological monitoring and feedback for training, therapy, and emerging applications. We are also focused on developing a comprehensive protocol to address an array of needs for military personnel and civilian first responders as well as emerging technologies for various security and intelligence operations. Having been involved in R&D projects in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. for the past 25 years, we have won over 50 competitive government contracts and look now towards marketing the developed products and protocols.

 

Representing VRMI on the mission were Prof. Dr. Brenda Wiederhold, President, and Prof. Dr. Mark Wiederhold, Director of Clinical Research.

Brenda Wiederhold 0 Comments
Jun 14 2013
From Generation to Generation

the 17th annual International CyberPsychology and CyberTherapy Conference (CYBER17) convened in Brussels, Belgium on the 25-28th September 2012. With speechs from keynote speakers such as Robert Madelin, Director General  of  the Communications Networks, Content and Technology Directorate General (DG-CONNECT)  at  the  European  Commission (EC), stakeholders from over 20 countries were in attendance, including industry  leaders,  academics, clinicians, government funders and representatives from affiliated associations.

The aim of the conference was twofold: to inform and educate on how advanced technologies, such as virtual reality, are being used in training, therapy  and rehabilitation;  and how interactive  technologies  and social networking tools are affecting individual behaviour (both positively and negatively), as well as interpersonal relationships and society in its entirety. An interactive exhibit area, the Cyberarium, allowed participants to try first-hand the innovative technological solutions.

Last  year,  the  European  Council  endorsed the  EC’s creation of an Innovation Partnership on Healthy and Active Ageing, with the goal of adding two years of healthy life to citizens by 2020. In the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conduct activities helping older adults live long, productive  and independent  lives under the Healthy Ageing Programme.

While humanitarian reasons are the foundation for these programmes, the cost to society in their absence cannot be denied. As is true in Japan today, by 2030 more than 20% of the population of northern EC countries, Australia, Canada and the US will be over 65. In the US, about 80% of older adults have at least one chronic health condition, and such conditions can lead to the person’s inability to perform activities  of daily living (ADL) such as ‘bathing, dressing, eating, or moving around the house’.

Although information and communications technology (ICT) solutions  are only one part of the mix, a recent EC report confirmed that citizens view an ‘innovative way of care’ (a category that includes new ways to organise care, telecare and telehealth) as the most important part. Indeed, the author of a 2008 paper4 determined from a literature review and wireless technology experience that remote monitoring alone could ‘reduce healthcare expenditures by a net of $197bn (in constant 2008 dollars) over the next 25 years with adoption of policies  that reduce barriers and accelerate the use of  remote monitoring technologies’.

 

The full article is available here: From Generation to Generation – Dr._M.Baker_B.Wierderhold

Brenda Wiederhold 0 Comments
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
Brenda Wiederhold 0 Comments
Jun 14 2013
EU “eHealth in Focus” Newspaper mentions Cyber18!
Direct Extract:
“From 30 June until 2 July 2013, the 18th Annual CyberPsychology & CyberTherapy Conference will take place. Topics include: electronic health coaching, using virtual reality in treatments (for example after hand surgery), the new EU research program Horizon 2020, virtual body swapping and advanced technologies in the assessment and evaluation of psychological stress.

CYBER18 has 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.

Prominent academic representatives from Europe, North America, and Asia will serve as Scientific Chairs and on its Scientific Committee.

Note in your agenda:

July 1 – Conference Day 1

Keynote Address: Robert Madelin (Director-General for DG CONNECT): “Cyber Everything in Horizon 2020”

July 2 – Conference Day 2

Innovations in Health and Well-Being – Chairs: Terje Peetso and Peteris Zilgalvis

“ICT to Prevent Citizens From Becoming Patients” – Peteris Zilgalvis (Head of Unit, ICT for Health and Wellbeing, DG CONNECT)

The EU funded INTERSTRESS Project: “Advanced Technologies in the Assessment and Evaluation of Psychological Stress” – Prof. Andrea Gaggioli, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Italy

European Commission Funding Program: Francois Junique (Project Officer, DG CONNECT, Flagship unit) will present  “The Human Brain project” (HBP).

Find the full program of the conference here.”

 

Original link can be found here

Brenda Wiederhold 0 Comments
Nov 5 2012
Social Media is Shifting Power from Advertisers to Consumers

In a recent Forbes.com column, Shel Israel opined, ‘‘Social media is not yet a vast wasteland.. But in the world, where changes come at the speed of the Internet, I see danger here.’’

When television was in its infancy, some of its pioneers sought to share fine arts with viewers, but advertisers quickly drove the decision makers to offer low comedy and variety shows. When social media was in its infancy, companies at first talked about listening to their products’ consumers, but now they are talking ‘‘about making social media more transactional rather than conversational.’’

Still, consumers push back, driving advertising budgets and media buys through their social media behavior. By the 2013 Super Bowl, some predict that advertisers will change less liked versions of their TV commercials to different ver- sions later in the game—for the first time making real time changes in the commercial lineup. This is based on the esti- mated 5 million viewers who tweeted or otherwise com- mented on the commercials during the 2012 Super Bowl, for which ads cost an average of $3.5 million.2 With $72 billion in U.S. television ad spending at stake,3 the once fanciful notion of ‘‘interactive TV’’ is becoming reality.

TV is still the primary communications channel for mar- keters, representing a 41% share of major media advertising spending globally in 2011, up from 38% in 2001, when In- ternet advertising was new.4 Advertisers are learning to put their TV commercials online, and it is paying off. Online au- diences watched ads a record breaking 1.3 billion times in the first quarter of 2012, an increase of more than 40% compared to the same period in 2011 and more than 225% compared to the same period in 2010.5

Paying attention to the convergence of TV and social media is critically important to advertisers, as Americans spend 20% of their day watching TV—and many are simultaneously playing with their iPad or iPhone.3 Research shows that 71% of tablet owners go online while watching TV; the extra device will soon not be needed, as all TVs are expected to be connected to the Internet, with more than three fourths of global TV shipments in 2015 having this capability.6

Research is beginning to appear to help advertisers un- derstand these interactions. Hanna et al. describe the social media ‘‘ecosystem’’ of digital and traditional media in their 2011 article.7 Hess et al. explore the interplay of TV, PC, and mobile technologies in the German home.8 And research by Onishi and Manchanda concludes that new and traditional media in Japan act synergistically in terms of market out- comes, with this relationship stronger during the prelaunch versus the postlaunch period for a new product.9

Certainly, more research is needed. Companies such as Bluefin Labs are using analytics to find out how context affects ad ‘‘buzz,’’ while recognizing that some processes are still a mystery. One ad appeared on two shows with similar demographics and ratings, yet one show created eight more times the social-media buzz than the other. Moreover, not everything is controllable, as social media users are not representative of the general population, and 90% of people’s conversations about brands happen offline.3

Experts in this emerging field believe that the relationship between advertisers and consumers is undergoing a funda- mental change. As Bluefin CEO Deb Roy put it, ‘‘Audience members speaking through social media is effectively a shift in power.’’3 Advertisers seeking to put that relationship back on a one way footing through ‘‘shouting’’ in social media ignore this power shift at their peril.
References
1. Israel S. (2012) Will marketing muck up social media? www.forbes.com/sites/shelisrael/2012/07/05/will-marketing- muck-up-social-media/ (accessed Jul. 15, 2012).
2. Talbot D. (2012) Why viewers could soon control Super Bowl ads. www.technologyreview.com/printer_friendly_ article.aspx?id = 39590 (accessed Jul. 15, 2012).
3. Talbot D. (2011) A social-media decoder. New technology deciphers—and empowers—the millions who talk back to their television through the Web. www.technologyreview .com/printer_friendly_article.aspx?id = 38910 (accessed Jul. 29, 2012).
4. Green A. (2011) Understanding television audiences. Warc best practice. www.ipsos-mori.com/Assets/Docs/Publications/ Understanding%20Television%20Audiences,%20September% 202011.pdf (accessed Jul. 29, 2012).
5. Visible measures. Q1 2012 social video advertising report. www.iab.net/media/file/SocialVideoAdvertisingReportQ12012 .pdf (accessed Jul. 29, 2012).
6. Mane S, Thompson K. How does industry buzz translate into real world consumer activity? Early indicators of what this means for advertising. www.iab.net/media/file/IAB_ Breakfast_Briefing_with_Ipsos_How_Does_Industry_Buzz_ Translate_into_Real_World_Consumer_Activity.pdf (accessed Jul. 29, 2012).

7. Hanna R, Rohm A, Crittenden VL. We’re all connected: the power of the social media ecosystem. Business Horizons 2011; in press. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2011.01.007
8. Hess J, Ley B, Ogonowski C, Wan L, Wulf V. Understanding and supporting cross-platform usage in the living room. En- tertainment Computing 2012; 3:37–47.
9. Onishi H, Manchanda P. Marketing activity, blogging and sales. International Journal of Research in Marketing 2012; in press. doi:10.1016/j.ijresmar.2011.11.003

 

Brenda K. Wiederhold

Editor-in-Chief

http://www.liebertpub.com/overview/cyberpsychology-behavior-and-social-networking/10

Brenda Wiederhold 0 Comments
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

Brenda Wiederhold 0 Comments