Associations between touchscreen exposure and hot and cool inhibitory control in 10-month-old infants

Touchscreen use amongst young children has proliferated in recent years, yet little is known about the association between daily touchscreen exposure and inhibitory control in the first year of life. Previous research has found a negative association between the amount of television viewing and inhibitory control in early childhood, but it is unclear whether negative associations with screen use extend to touchscreens. The current study presents an exploratory analysis of the cross-sectional associations between inhibitory control and the amount of touchscreen use amongst 10-month-olds (n = 128–156). Touchscreen exposure was assessed via parent-report. In order to include a range of “hot” and “cool” aspects of inhibitory control, these skills were assessed using lab-based response inhibition and prohibition tasks as well as parent-reported observations of infants’ inhibitory control abilities and broader regulatory behaviors. A “Cognitive Executive Function (EEFQ-CEF)” score (encompassing Inhibitory Control, Flexibility, and Working Memory items) was included as a secondary broader executive function construct to examine whether effects showed specificity to inhibitory control rather than executive functions more generally. Correlation analyses indicated no association between touchscreen exposure and the four indices of IC. However, a positive association was found for the amount of touchscreen exposure and EEFQ-CEF once accounting for sociodemographic variables. The implications of these findings and future directions are discussed.     

Inter-professional learning: initial observations of the art psychotherapy tools used in the post-qualifying postgraduate training in counselling children and young people

ABSTRACT

Children and young people (C&YP) counselling training and art psychotherapy training lead to two distinctive psychological therapy approaches; one is informed by British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy’s Competences for work with children and young people (4–18 years) [BACP. (2019a). Competences for work with children and young people (4–18 years). Retrieved from https://www.bacp.co.uk/media/5863/bacp-cyp-competence-framework.pdf], the other by Health and Care Professions Council’s Standards of Proficiency for Arts Therapists [HCPC. (2013). Standards of proficiency - Arts therapists. Retrieved from http://www.hpc-uk.org/publications/index.asp?id=39#publicationSearchResults]. In this article we outline the training methods utilised on the Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling C&YP at a British University and share initial observations of how creative and arts-based therapeutic tools form an important part of the curriculum delivery. The aim of this paper is also to outline the role of intentionality application in the use of creative interventions in therapeutic practice.     

Creativity,Acceptance, and the Pause: A Case Example of Mindfulness and Art in Therapy with an Adolescent

ABSTRACT

Mindfulness, defined as nonjudgmental awareness, has been integrated into a variety of therapeutic approaches. The benefits of mindfulness for adults have been demonstrated, and mindful interventions for youth are increasing. Creating a space for mindfulness to arise can be challenging within the hectic and technology-filled lives adolescents often lead. Art in therapy with adolescents can be a beneficial way of creating a pause, thereby helping clients to connect to a mindful state. The use of art in therapy to promote mindfulness can be especially useful for adolescents who can be reluctant to engage in traditional forms of talk therapy. In this article, we use a case example of therapy with a Mexican-American male youth to exemplify the clinical application of a combination of mindfulness and various art modalities.     

Interreligious contact and media: introduction

ABSTRACT

Religious pluralisation entails interreligious contacts of different kinds and at various levels. At the same time, an increasing mediatisation affects the perception of and encounter with other religious traditions and their adherents. These relations between interreligious contact and media have not yet been subject to extended research from the study of religion perspective. This issue wants to fill this gap by presenting different case studies and systematising considerations on constellations of interreligious contact/dialogue/encounter and media: specifically (a) the influence of mediated discourses on interreligious contact, (b) media extensions of local and global interreligious dialogue, and (c) the digital – and especially social – media as a platform for interreligious dialogue or encounter. This introduction gives an overview on concepts, questions and topics of this field of research, drawing on the case studies within this special issue.     

Theses on television

Television has failed: failed because we are no longer dealing with information, but with stage‐management; failed because the viewer looks for the picture before looking for analysis, looks for effect before truth.     

The influence of popular media characters on children's object choices

Children often prefer objects and food packaging bearing images of popular media characters. However, it is unclear what factors may influence this. This study investigated whether depictions of popular media characters on high-quality (brand new) and low-quality (dirty, broken) objects influenced 3- to 4-year-old children's (N = 84) object preferences, as well as which objects children selected to help them complete a functional task (e.g., using a bucket to transport several small items). We also investigated whether children's preferences were related to inhibitory control. We found children's preferences were influenced by images of popular characters, but not their choice of objects for functional use. Instead, children relied on object quality when selecting an object to complete a task. Inhibitory control was not related to children's object choices. These results suggest children may weigh object features differently when making decisions for different purposes.     

Eschatological companions: Christian hope in virtual worlds

ABSTRACT

The Christian faith is oriented around the hope that is found in the birth, life, death, resurrection and return of Jesus Christ, and this hope shapes Christian understandings of being human and human flourishing. What then might this Christian hope have to say about our technological developments and, in particular, how those shape our reflection on being human? Moreover, how do the various virtual worlds that we inhabit in continuity with our physical environment shape our thinking on bodies, gender, sexuality, identity and relationships? This article adds constructive theological reflection on technologically shape virtual worlds through the lens of Christian hope, moving beyond only eschatological dimensions to focus also on technological narratives of purpose and novelty and theological thinking around humanity, Christology and salvation. It is our contention that Christian hope provides a unifying theme for fruitful theological reflection on virtual worlds and our lives within them.     

The sacred and the profane: social media and temporal patterns of religiosity in the United Arab Emirates

ABSTRACT

Large datasets associated with internet search engines and social media platforms are increasingly used to study psychological variables. Over the past decade, ‘big data’, as they have become known, have become central to the exploration of a diverse range of topics. Few studies, however, have examined religiosity (religious belief, commitment, and devotion), particularly Islamic religiosity in the Arab world. This study looked at religiosity in the United Arab Emirates through data extracted from Twitter, a popular social media platform. The data comprised 152 million Twitter messages, spanning the period 1 April–30 September 2016. Bilingual search algorithms were employed to investigate the temporal patterns of religiosity expressed within the dataset. The study also explored patterns in the expression of obscenity (offensive language), hypothesising a negative relationship with religious sentiment. Religiosity followed hypothesised temporal patterns and was also inversely correlated with obscenity. There were differences observed between languages (Arabic vs English) and gender, with males, surprisingly, expressing greater religiosity than females. This research contributes to the nascent study of religiosity through social media.