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Shaalan Huqais

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How Does Technology Improve a Business?

In this century, the question isn't how much can technology improve your business but is it possible to conduct business without relying heavily on technology? Here are some current and near-future technology applications that will improve businesses - including yours.

Faster, More Comprehensive Communication

Sometimes, radical improvements in communication made possible by the internet and associated devices - such as laptops and smart phones - can become so sophisticated as to become oppressive. Nobody needs 200 business emails a day. Nevertheless, once you organize your communication tactics and strategies around these available communication resources, things will move faster. They'll also move more reliably, via apps that timestamp the opening of emails to clients and they'll do so at a lower cost, once you beat back your cell phone provider's monthly charges, that is - or you move to a lower cost provider, as rates continue to fall.

Increased Use of "The Cloud"

Recently, high-tech communication possibilities have been further enhanced by the increased use of "the cloud" as a communication resource. For example, film or music producers in different cities can simultaneously work on a single project simultaneously that's available to both of them via the cloud. Expert surgeons already oversee surgical operations on other continents via virtual operating theaters. Eventually, medical procedures that are entirely machine-driven can be supervised virtually from anywhere in the world, from a single physical operating theater.

New Communications Technologies

As computer processing speeds and storage capabilities continue to increase, new communication technologies will arise. Emerging virtual presence technologies will make it easier and more effective for executives, speakers, coaches and technologists of every kind to make virtual presentations anywhere around the globe, with all the advantages of physical presence but without the limitations.

Resource Management and Efficiency

These same communication technologies are already changing resource management and eventually will radically restructure how we work. Today, a single operator can deploy various military resources all over the globe. Tomorrow, a single operator will be able control and supervise fleets of unmanned transport vehicles at lower cost, with higher reliability and lower accident rates.

Similarly, experts can be virtually deployed almost instantly to solve production and other problems anywhere in the world. Amazon's much-touted drone program not only has regulatory and legal issues to face, but also the practical, every day problem of pets, children, and - most importantly, getting them to stay in the air long enough to fly long distances, according to a 2016 Gartner report published in The New York Times. But The Times also stated that a future of autonomous drones is much closer than a future of self-driving cars.

Labor Cost Savings

The most significant emerging technologies already changing the way we work are in automation and automated learning. Tesla's production plant for its new Model 3 electric passenger vehicle has very few workers, and they're largely there to observe and - when necessary - correct or modify a production process. Most of the work is done via machines that communicate directly with one another.

In recent years, one of the most promising fields for young workers has been in computer programming and coding. In 2019, at least 25 million programmers are working globally. It's nearly certain that in the near future, programming and coding jobs will increase, but gradually, computers will begin to program other computers or they will reprogram themselves. Futurists predict that eventually most humans will not work for a living.

Safety Advantages Through Technology

One of the more remarkable increases in worker safety during the past 50 years has been in the inherently risky business of automobile racing. In the 1950s, there were five Formula One fatalities. Although there were many more Formula One events in the 1990s, there were only two fatalities during the entire decade.

The technological innovations that drove down the fatality rate in Formula One racing made automobiles safer, generally. The advent of the driver-less automobile will surely reduce fatality rates further - computers don't get drunk and drive, they have no interest in showing off and they exist only to concentrate on their primary task. The increased safety of highway travel globally - beyond lowering fatality rates and making traveling safer, will also lower insurance rates and will generally reduce the cost of business-related transport.

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In this century, the question isn't how much can technology improve your business but is it possible to conduct business without relying heavily on technology? Here are some current and near-future technology applications that will improve businesses - including yours.

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Widad abdulrab

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Chip Conley: Measuring what makes life worthwhile

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When the dotcom bubble burst, hotelier Chip Conley went in search of a business model based on happiness. In an old friendship with an employee and in the wisdom of a Buddhist king, he learned that success comes from what you count.

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http://www.happify.com/hd/why-friends-make-us-happier/Haya Haddad

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https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.wikihow.com/Be-Happy-at-Work%3famp=1

https://youtu.be/ZIDppcZanZw

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Haya Haddad https://www.thehappiempire.com/2011/12/5-ways-to-make-my-friend-happy/

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-parents-technology-addiction-study-met-20170508-story.html

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Article 1:
https://newsela.com/read/elem-global-happiness/id/28302
Article 2:
https://newsela.com/read/indian-happiness-institute/id/22042

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Fatima El

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Video 1:
https://www.ted.com/talks/benjamin_wallace_on_the_price_of_happiness?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

Video 2:
https://www.ted.com/talks/matthieu_ricard_on_the_habits_of_happiness/up-next

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Technology is everywhere, and it is not going away. Teenagers stare down at their iPhones, or keep their eyes glued to a tablet or laptop, instead of observing the world around them. It's not unusual to see two adolescents seated together on a bus, texting furiously on their mobiles rather than talking to one another. The fact that teens are so dependent on technology makes sense in our world, but it may also lead to negative consequences.

What is technology addiction?

Technology addiction can be defined as frequent and obsessive technology-related behavior increasingly practiced despite negative consequences to the user of the technology. An over-dependence on tech can significantly impact students' lives. While we need technology to survive in a modern social world, a severe overreliance on technology-or an addiction to certain facets of its use-can also be socially devastating. Tech dependence can lead to teen consequences that span from mild annoyance when away from technology to feelings of isolation, extreme anxiety, and depression.

What makes technology addictive?

Technology fulfills our natural human need for stimulation, interaction, and changes in environment with great efficiency. When teenagers experience stress, be it romantic rejection or a poor grade on an exam, technology can become a quick and easy way to fill basic needs, and as such, can become addictive.

Technology impacts the pleasure systems of the brain in ways similar to substances. It provides some of the same reward that alcohol and other drugs might: it can be a boredom buster, a social lubricant, and an escape from reality.

Video and computer games, smart phones and tablets, social media and the Internet provide a variety of access points that can promote dependence on technology and negative consequences for youth:

The Internet. The Web can be addictive as a multifunctional tool that brings us exceptionally close to an enormous amount of information at unprecedented speeds. User-friendly by design, we now have access to the Internet on our computers, through apps on our tablets, phones and watches. "FOMO," or "Fear of Missing Out," is a commonly described phenomenon for teens and young adults, in which youth increasingly feel the need to stay connected to the Internet, so they aren't the last to know of a news story or social happening.

Related to FOMO, some Facebook users, for instance, report that they use the Internet-based social media platform as a chosen method to alleviate their anxiety or depression. ¹ With so much accessibility to its use, the Internet is just as hard to stay away from at any given point in a day as it is easy and rewarding to use.

Video and computer games. One hallmark of human psychology is that we want to feel competent, autonomous, and related to other people. Challenging video games allow players to feel that they are good at something. Games offer a great variety of choice to players, promoting a sense of autonomy for teens who might feel otherwise out of control.

The same goals that drive people to pursue success in the real world are often present in video games. As one amasses virtual wealth or prestige by spending time on games and advancing through levels, virtual wealth can translate into some version of actual recognition-through monetary purchasing power within an online game or a positive reputation within an online community.

Gamers find themselves linked to others who share their hobby through YouTube channels or subreddits dedicated to discussion of their game of choice with other enthusiasts. Like the Internet itself, games make themselves increasingly accessible to teens via apps on smart phones, never leaving kids' palms or pockets.

While there is room for social connection in the gaming universe, this space also provides a potential escape from reality into a digital world where players get to assume new identities more appealing or more novel than those they hold in the real life.

Smart phones, tablets, and lifestyle technologies. These highly-mobile, flexible machines have the power to constantly connect. Smart phones and tablets, and the emergence of other smart devices from the Apple Watch to the Amazon Echo, promote addiction by removing the time lapse from tasks and activities that previously required logging into a deskbound, or at least a backpack-bound, computer source.

Social media. Social media presents individually-relevant information in the easiest ways-centralized, personalized portals, like a Facebook newsfeed, YouTube subscription, or Snapchat followership.

Whether it's a Skype conversation with our grandmother in Alaska or a Twitter reply to the President, social media feeds our need for human connection by allowing us to share feedback with those who are far from us in time, geography, or social status. As social animals, we need human contact for emotional and psychological health. The appeal of social media is that it helps us to fill social needs without the efforts or restraints of in-person contact.

What are the risks of teen technology use?

While technology is certainly not all bad, its overuse can pose certain key risks, especially to teens.

Technology can give students a false sense of relational security as they communicate with unseen individuals around the world. The speed with which technology moves makes everything a teen might be looking for available within seconds, which encourages an unhealthy desire for instant gratification. A slow internet connection or "unplugging" can promote irritability and anxiety for a teen otherwise used to constant connection through technology.

Sleep disorders can develop as teens stay up all night to play with technology, and as a result, academic, athletic, and social performance can suffer. Weight gain and other complications of a poor diet and sedentary lifestyle, such as cardiovascular disease, may result. In-person social skills may deteriorate.

Even as healthy teens are challenged by increasing life responsibilities, hormonal changes, and the stress of new social and academic worlds like dating and applying to college, these life transitions become even harder for those wholly absorbed in technology.

Within a technology-addicted individual, the mind becomes increasingly unable to distinguish between the lived and the alternate realities that produce instant stimulation, pleasure, and reward. As such, the extreme use of technology can disrupt normal patterns of mood and socialization in teens. Dependency upon social media, gaming, or other platforms to function can become the new and unhealthy "normal."

Technology addiction and teen substance use. Researchers have found evidence that people who overuse technology may develop similar brain chemistry and neural patterning to those who are addicted to substances. ²

Another concern is that those who are addicted to technology are actually more likely to also use substances than their peers with healthier relationships to tech, providing the insight that technology addiction may be a risk factor for alcohol and other drug addiction.

One preliminary study found that a group of teens who "hyper-texted" were 40% more likely to have used cigarettes and twice as likely to have used alcohol than students who were less frequent users of technology. This same research noted that those who spent more hours per school day than peers on social networking sites were at higher risk for depression and suicide. ³

It stands to reason then, that if we can prevent technology addiction, we may also be able to prevent other risky behavior and dangerous consequences to teens.

Technology and the brain. Studies have shown that brain scans of young people with internet addiction disorder (IAD) are similar to those of people with substance addictions to alcohol, cocaine, and cannabis. ⁴

Damage to brain systems connecting emotional processing, attention, and decision-making are affected in both substance addicts and technology addicts. This discovery shows that being hooked on a tech behavior can, in some ways, be as physically damaging as an addiction to alcohol and other drug use.

When is technology a protective factor?

Of course, the advent of smarter, faster, more mobile technologies can be used positively with teens too. The following list reflects the many ways that technology, used in a healthy way, can encourage teens to explore their world and express themselves:

Learning. In Ramsey Musallam's AP Chemistry class at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory in San Francisco, California, cell phones are a natural extension of the way the teacher otherwise communicates with his students. As soon as kids walk into his classroom, Musallam sends out a text blast through Remind101, asking students a challenge question related to the day's lesson. ⁵

Some teachers use Facebook as a communication hub, creating a public page or smaller, closed groups for classes. Using technology like this, teachers can keep parents informed, distribute homework or permission slips, and share photos and videos from classroom activities and field trips.

Others in education and civic development have found that by piquing students' interest in social justice or commentary videos posted on YouTube, student engagement with world issues is enhanced.

Creativity and expression. Technology can promote student creativity by prompting expression through user-friendly tools. Some studies have shown that blogging, or web journaling, enhances students' creative thinking. ⁶

Metacognition-the ability to be aware of, attend to, and use information about one's own cognitive processes-allows students to strengthen critical thinking across academic and artistic disciplines. Utilizing Internet-based technologies that ask students to reflect on and reiterate their learning processes provides a framework for the development of teen metacognition skills.

Now common technologies like tablets and smart phones are often much less bulky than notebooks and textbooks, allowing students to flex their imaginations, read fiction, write poetry, doodle, or take pictures through the ease of software applications found on highly-mobile devices.

Socialization. When monitored properly by a parent or guardian, the use of social media can create safe and healthy friendship networks for teens with like interests online, through already established mutual friendships or within shared interest hubs, like a blogging community or Facebook group.

Preventing other teen risks. Since the expansion of the Internet and mobile technologies, call-in hotlines have expanded to include Internet help sites and texting lines for teens run by knowledgeable and mature adults. These options provide a place teens can go for accurate information and timely support when they are not comfortable discussing their personal problems with an adult at home or school.

At her social advocacy organization, Nancy Lublin started receiving so many texts from students with questions about bullying that she set up a text-only crisis line. ⁷ While online harassment is a concern, online support movements like the It Gets Better Project have sprung up to powerfully protect teens too.

Preventing Technology Addiction in Teens

Technology will only grow in its use in teens' worlds. Preventing teen addiction to technology means finding a balance within students' lives, so that teenagers do not misuse their technology as an escape from real world challenges, emotions, socialization, or identity. Adults can help children and teens have healthy relationships to technology when they:

Provide plenty of healthy highs, some of them offline. How teenagers use technology really matters. Are teens playing video games among other recreational activities, and are they as excited about a dinner with friends as they are about "leveling up"? Or, are they turning on the Xbox so they don't have to face a life that they're not enjoying?

Balance activity and productivity with healthy stress management. Everything in life requires energy, and often teens feel like they have too little energy to spend on too many demands. If they're are not guided by adults to discover healthy ways to replenish their stores of energy, they may default by overusing easy fixes for entertainment or stress relief that promote technology addiction.

Nurture pro-social identity development in the real world. Adults must be proactive, creative, and excited as they help kids to discover who they really are! Once teenagers find something they are good at and want to do, they will naturally gravitate toward it. It is easier to create an Internet façade, but far more rewarding for teens to cultivate true purposes and genuine identities within their families, schools, and communities.

Consider treatment when there's a problem. Inpatient treatment for technology addiction starts by removing a teenager from both the Internet and the surroundings that allowed a technology addiction to occur in the first place. It is a form of intensive therapy. Other treatments can include ways to help technology addicts see the offline world as more pleasurable, without fully removing the online element from their lives.

Creating a Healthy Balance

It is true that technology can fulfill many human needs, but its overuse comes with risk. Being addicted to technology is in some ways akin to an addiction to alcohol and other drugs, with many of the same effects on the developing brain.

We must do all we can to prevent any sort of addiction from occurring in our children's lives. Technology can be a protective factor if used properly, and healthy adults can play a role in student technology addiction prevention by showing young people the benefits to be gained from a healthy, balanced approach to technology use.

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Technology is everywhere, and it is not going away. Teenagers stare down at their iPhones, or keep their eyes glued to a tablet or laptop, instead of observing the world around them. It's not unusual to see two adolescents seated together on a bus, texting furiously on their mobiles rather than talking to one another.

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"You destroy your enemies when you make peace with them." -Proverb.

Peace, as we all know, is very important in our lives and it is essential to our overall well-being. However, this is something that has, regrettably, eluded us for years and years in this world. It has been hindered by war, conflicts and disagreements throughout human history, which has left our world and the many people in it in a deplorable emotional and physical state. This should not be the case.

Even in the places where the guns are silent, there is still some form of conflict going on in many homes, which is obviously going to have negative effects on the future society and spark more wars and conflicts in this world.

For example, when there is conflict between siblings in a home; if not checked, they might continue this conflict on a much greater scale, and it might end up in either one of them dying.

Also, conflicts that can prevent peace from being possible are conflicts between different ethnic groups, different religions, different races, and so on, which are quite frequent in today's society.

If this continues, then any chance of peace will be lost, so we should try as much as possible to raise the future generations that will replace us one day to value peace above all else so that this world will be a better place.

Any kind of violence, even in its lowest form can be a huge hindrance to peace, and that is why we must stamp it out in order to preserve peace and the lives of millions of innocent people. If we do not root it out, then we will be seeing full scale wars a lot more often and more lives will be lost.

In any case, conflict is senseless and accomplishes nothing for us but rather, it creates more problems. In fact, it is a big factor contributing to revenge, which is one of the biggest hindrances to peace.

However, it does not have to be this way as there is still hope for us to become peaceful.

How?

Peace has many benefits if we give it a chance, and it is a far more favourable option than conflicts. Imagine all the positive developments we could make if we were to have lasting peace throughout the ages. It might be hard, but we must all learn to do it.

A solution to these conflicts is finding some sort of common ground or understanding from the neutral point of view of a mediator. Mutual understanding is an element that is crucial to the development of peace in this world, because without it, we would not be able to resolve our differences and they would remain in place, which would give rise to more misfortunes.

It begins with raising children in a positive way, resolving differences with a mutually beneficial solution, and rooting out problems before they grow.

If we do all these, less lives will be lost, and there would not be as much chaos and destruction as we have it today.

About the Writer: Ezugo Obuekwe is a 16-year-old high school student. His interests include writing, playing video games, learning about history, computers and playing Basketball.

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The Importance of Peace in Our World * Connect Nigeria

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"You destroy your enemies when you make peace with them." -Proverb. Peace, as we all know, is very important in our lives and it is essential to our overall well-being. However, this is something that has, regrettably, eluded us for years and years in this world.

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Abstract

Information and communication technologies offer clinicians the opportunity to work with patients to manage chronic conditions, including addiction. The early research on the efficacy of electronic treatment and support tools is promising. Sensors have recently received increased attention as key components of electronic treatment and recovery management systems. Although results of the research are very promising, concerns at the clinical and policy level must be addressed before widespread adoption of these technologies can become practical. First, clinicians must adapt their practices to incorporate a continuing flow of patient information. Second, payment and regulatory systems must make adjustments far beyond what telemedicine and electronic medical records have required. This paper examines potential roles of information and communication technologies as well as process and regulatory challenges.

Keywords: E-health, Addiction, Treatment, Recovery, Information and communication technology, ICT

Introduction

Estimates of the nationwide costs of 60 major illnesses put alcohol abuse as the second and drug abuse as the seventh most costly health problem in the United States [ 1]. Research also indicates that substance abuse increases patient and family vulnerability to-as well as the cost of treating-other serious health problems [ 2]. Taken together, substance abuse costs the United States more than 346 billion dollars per year, or more than the expense of cancer and diabetes combined [ 3]. As we begin a national effort to contain health care costs, we must develop and rapidly disseminate practical and effective treatments and supports to reduce substance abuse and the burden of substance use disorders.

One promising tool is information and communication technology (ICT), also referred to as e-health. ICT refers to technologies that provide information through telecommunications such as the Internet, wireless communications, cellular phones, tablets, and other communication media that unify computer processing and social networking. ICTs being developed and tested for addiction treatment vary from video counseling to computer-programmed cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to medication monitoring and reminder systems and Internet support groups. Patients with substance use disorders can benefit from ICTs during the identification of the disorders and during the acute and post-acute phases of treatment. Mobile technologies (eg, smart phones and tablets) in particular offer promise with their portability, allowing for immediate intervention and continuous access to support systems.

Information and Communication Technologies

ICTs may be cost-beneficial in acute treatment and continuing care [ 4]. Studies of ICTs in chronic disease self-management are promising in terms of user interest and treatment effectiveness [ 5**, 6]. Patients acknowledge more drug use and psychiatric symptoms online than in face-to-face interviews [ 7]. Computerized screening and brief interventions have increased motivation and reduced problem drinking [ 8- 10]. Technologies such as interactive voice response systems have been used successfully to provide prompts and collect data from individuals dealing with substance misuse [ 11]. ICTs can boost motivation via social support [ 12- 14]. Informational and emotional exchanges through ICTs have been linked to a range of positive health outcomes [ 15, 16]. A recent review found positive outcomes in 29 of 32 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of personal computer and single-service (eg, texting) cellular phone ICTs for managing chronic disease across diabetes, cancer, heart failure, smoking, pain and depression, and alcohol and other drug abuse [ 17* *]. Although these studies are encouraging, sample sizes were generally small, and only one study addressed cost-effectiveness [ 18, 19]. RCTs of smart phone systems to address addiction are just beginning to appear, with only two relevant National Institute of Health-funded addiction RCTs under way according to the National Institutes of Health Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools [ 20]. One is a small ( n=25) smart phone addition to the RCT of a therapeutic educational system (TES) conducted by Bickel et al. [ 21] (CTN0044) and described below. The second is a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism-funded project discussed later in this paper. Hence we have a long way to go to establish a foundation of research that will allow us to fully assess the impact and to understand the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of these systems across the continuum of care.

Information and Communication Technologies in Acute Treatment

Two key aspects of acute treatment are education and counseling. One evidence-based example of an ICT for acute care is TES, a computerized educational system built around the community reinforcement approach (CRA). It is used to give patients skills to achieve and maintain abstinence and improve social functioning. TES has been tested in an RCT and found to be as effective as therapist-delivered CRA at a reduced cost [ 21]. TES has a self-training module that produces an individualized treatment plan for each participant. It provides 65 text- and audio-based modules that include education, role playing, exercises, and homework for issues such as constructive feedback, refusal skills, healthy routines, trigger management, and coping with thoughts about using drugs. Information about system use and progress is shared with therapists. TES has been tested primarily on a computer rather than a mobile device, except for the small trial mentioned previously.

CBT is a form of therapy frequently used in treatment of patients with substance use disorders. The goal of CBT is to help patients understand and change the thoughts and feelings that influence their behaviors. CBT typically includes stress management, problem solving, goal setting, pacing of activities, and assertiveness training. CBT has great potential as a treatment modality delivered through ICT. In an RCT of 77 patients randomly assigned to treatment as usual (TAU) or TAU with access to a computerized CBT program (CBT4CBT), patients in the CBT4CBT group were more likely to have urine specimens negative for any drug and to remain abstinent longer than the patients who received TAU [ 22**]. A follow-up study indicated that these effects were maintained [ 23]. CBT4CBT has been tested only on the computer platform.

Continuing Care

If we truly believe that addiction is a chronic disease, then acute treatment is just the beginning of care. Patients also need continuing care for sustained recovery. The success of continuing care is marked by long duration [ 24, 25], assertive outreach [ 26], monitoring [ 27- 29], prompts [ 30- 32], action planning [ 33- 35], case management [ 36- 38], and peer [ 39, 40] and family support [ 41]. Although continuing care can improve health and reduce health care use [ 42], it has not been widely used in addiction treatment [ 43- 45]. When it is available, continuing care programming may address only a subset of these characteristics, be inconsistent, offer information that is difficult to recall, have answers that are difficult to find, and be unavailable when needed [ 46]. Cost, geographic distance, and lack of time and peer or family support may inhibit participation in continuing care programs. Addiction treatment and primary care are both labor-intensive fields with few available resources [ 47]. The current delivery model makes it difficult to provide high-quality continuing care [ 48]. Innovative solutions are needed to make continuing care a more standard part of treatment [ 49].

ICTs can play an important role in overcoming these deficits. One ICT that has been evaluated extensively is the Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System (CHESS). For 25 years, the Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (an NCI-designated center of excellence in cancer communication research) has developed and tested ICTs to improve health behaviors, quality of life, and access to care for several disease groups, including cancer, asthma, HIV/AIDS, and addiction ( http://www.chess.wisc.edu). The ICT it has developed combines informational content with social networking and real time messaging tools. It uses an evolving platform based on extensive needs assessment studies [ 50- 52] that is made available to patients and family caregivers [ 53- 55]. In randomized efficacy trials, CHESS significantly improved 1) quality of life and self-efficacy for women with breast cancer compared with control and Internet groups [ 56, 57], 2) quality of life and costs of care in people with HIV [ 18], 3) asthma control for young children (mediated by relatedness) [ 58], and 4) quality of dying and survival length for lung cancer patients (mediated by competence) [ 59]. Smart phone forms of CHESS are currently in RCTs on colon cancer, childhood asthma, and alcohol dependence.

A National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism-funded study of Addiction CHESS (ACHESS) uses a smart phone-based continuing care system based on Marlatt's relapse prevention model [ 19] and self-determination theory [ 60]. ACHESS services include all the elements listed earlier that are essential to continuing care. It offers easy anytime/anywhere access to 10 services tailored to meet patient, counselor, and primary care needs. shows the services and where the data come from (F) and where they go (2). Services come in text and audio-video formats [ 61]. The following ACHESS services were derived from elements of the two theoretical models upon which it is based. Coping competence services include a global positioning system (GPS) that tracks current location and intervenes with an intervention tailored to the user when the person has a prolonged stay in a high-risk location. Ecological momentary assessments of protective and risk factors lead to tailored tools and information (eg, CBT, relaxation audio files, one-touch dialing to supports) [ 62]. The healthy events calendar prompts patients to participate in healthy activities that were identified during treatment, and encourages communication and data sharing with providers (randomly, if indicators exceed a threshold [eg, GPS indicating sustained time in a high-risk location], and prior to an appointment). Intrinsic motivation services include avatar-facilitated motivational interviews that elicit and use a patient's perspective to provide options and rationales for advice given [ 63- 65]. My recovery motivation-a picture, quote, or audio file-reminds the patient of his or her own motivation for recovery. Social-relatedness services include a one-touch link to providers, supporters and peers, video counseling, phone, e-mail, and text. While clinician-to-patient contact is part of ACHESS, most uses require no direct contact with clinicians. Patients are responsible for using ACHESS services, but the clinician or care provider can offer the patient reminders, a thought for the day, or periodic assessment. ACHESS also contacts clinicians if, based on survey responses, the patient appears to be at risk or likely to miss an appointment. A brief video can be viewed at http://chess.wisc.edu/chess/projects/addictionchessvideo.aspx.

Table 1

Sensors

Sensors that detect an impending lapse can dramatically increase the effectiveness of smart phones and tablets. Relapse can come quickly and with little notice, even for a patient who appears to be doing well. A patient overcome by relapse triggers or craving can easily forget relapse plans and return to old coping mechanisms. Future continuing care initiatives will need to detect onset of a lapse in real time or predict relapse before it happens and be able to react instantaneously. Sensors that are commonly built into smart phones or can be easily connected to smart phones show promise in this regard.

Repurposing Existing Sensors

Most smart phones now come with several built-in sensors: cameras, microphones, GPS, accelerometers, and magnetometers. These sensors are not designed to gather clinically relevant data; however, they may be capable of being repurposed to monitor for indicators of impending or recent relapse. These indicators, captured in real time, could be used to initiate a preventive response delivered via smart phone or another mechanism [ 66]. Existing smart phone sensors might be repurposed to detect impending relapse using heart and respiration rate measured through basic webcams [ 67], which are now included on many smart phones. Diaphragmatic breathing may be monitored using a standard ear bud-mounted microphone to indicate stress levels [ 68]. Accelerometers may be used to detect fasciculations (twitching) to indicate stimulant use or tossing and turning in bed to detect sleep quality. GPS could alert proximity to or presence at a bar at which a patient used to drink alcohol.

Existing Add-on Sensors

The potential of common smart phone sensors to detect clinically relevant data demands further exploration, as the cost of adapting existing sensors is minimal, yet these common smart phone sensors may lack the sensitivity to capture important moments, or may not be capable of measuring the most useful clinical metrics. Sensor hardware designed to connect to smart phones could be added as a peripheral to monitor key metrics. For example, physiologic monitoring devices designed for weight management that measure skin temperature, motion, galvanic skin response, and heat flux may be able to indicate negative affect, a predictor of relapse [ 69]. Smart phone breathalyzer-like accessories may estimate blood alcohol levels. Continuous transdermal alcohol monitoring, usually in the form of an ankle or bracelet sensor, may estimate the blood alcohol level of the wearer by tracing the ethanol concentration in perspiration. The secure continuous remote alcohol monitoring device is among the most popular used by law enforcement [ 70]. Such a device could be repurposed to communicate with health care providers or patient supports to initiate a health care intervention rather than a law enforcement response.

Developing New Sensors

Even if no sensors currently exist that can be used to gather key relapse indicators, they may be developed and tested specifically for such a purpose. Wearable, unobtrusive sensors are currently being developed and tested to monitor physical, cognitive, and emotional stressors [ 71, 72**]. The sensors found in smart phones will only become cheaper and more ubiquitous as time passes and the technology advances. Soon, most people will be carrying phones that contain sensors, whether or not sensors are leveraged to gather useful clinical data. If an abundance of such data were gathered, software holds the potential to identify important indicators and to initiate an appropriate response. All of this means that we may soon be able to attain the benefits associated with long-term, real time monitoring of individuals in recovery at negligible costs.

Decision Models

It is one thing to collect data and quite another to accurately use those data to predict relapse and other outcomes. Data will often come from a variety of sources (eg, accelerator, GPS, magnetometer, patient surveys). Several statistical modeling strategies are available to combine such data. For example, very early results suggest that using Bayesian statistical models [ 73, 74] to combine Brief Addiction Monitor scores and data from ACHESS may be able to predict the onset of relapse [ 58]. For ICTs to reach their full potential, decision or prediction models that transfer data into usable information will be required.

Barriers to Adoption

In order to make ICTs more widely available for patient care, several critical issues must be addressed. One is how care providers adapt their practices to utilize ICTs in the best way. For example, health systems that adopt electronic medical record systems must adapt clinical and administrative processes [ 59]. Systems that have not adapted their processes have less than full implementation of their electronic medical records [ 75]. Technology that directly impacts the process of care, the patient-provider relationship, and patient engagement in the management of his or her own care may have a greater impact on the patient care process than electronic medical record implementation has. Organizations will need to reconfigure how clinicians review, use, and record patient information from an ICT, particularly if they offer sensors that monitor biological factors and communication systems that are expected to provide the patient with rapid response to problems such as relapse triggers. Developing care delivery systems that make effective use of this continuous flow of information from ongoing rather than periodic contact with the patient without stressing care providers with information overload is critical to successful dissemination of ICTs.

One concern of health care providers is reimbursement. Video counseling is one service that is already reimbursable in some health care systems, but payment is generally made through a fee-for-service arrangement for the time a counselor spends on the computer with the patient or in consultation with another care provider [ 76]. As ICTs become available to address more chronic conditions, there is a keen interest in determining how to reimburse for automated services. Key research issues are whether the technology can improve patient outcomes over the long term and reduce cost of care [ 77]. Payers are unlikely to cover the costs of a service that cannot demonstrate both.

Most addiction treatment is designed as an acute care system with specific levels of care outlined in statute and regulation. State statutes regulate lengths of treatment stays, services that are required or allowed to be provided, restrictions on care provider education, licensing, number of patients to be seen at a given time, and number of patients a given clinician can carry. These regulations as well as cost considerations limit the adoption of ICTs by limiting their usefulness in the current treatment system [ 78]. For example, most states have regulations that require discharging a patient from addiction treatment if there has not been a visit in a specified length of time. These regulations are a relic of the days in which care was primarily hospital based or residential. Providers testing ACHESS are grappling with the regulatory requirement to discharge patients at the end of formal treatment while maintaining contact and responsibility for patients through electronic means. Some, but not all these barriers exist in the primary care system as well. ICTs have the ability to transform the patient-provider interaction, possibly allowing for longer but less intense lengths of treatment in the specialty care system and true chronic care management by a primary or specialty care provider. They may allow clinical staff to carry a larger caseload of patients with less acute but greater continuing care needs. As research demonstrates the ways that ICTs can change the way care is delivered, regulators and payers must stay up to date with rapidly changing technology to ensure that regulation and reimbursement systems do not inhibit improvement of patient care.

Conclusions

ICT is a rapidly evolving set of tools that offers important opportunities to improve the treatment and management of substance use disorders. Computer-based CBT and CRA have been shown to be efficacious in treating substance use disorders, and smart phone applications have helped manage other chronic diseases and are under investigation in treating substance use disorders. New technologies currently being developed hold great but unknown potential. A great deal of research remains to be done on the effectiveness and cost/benefits of ICTs as applied to the treatment of substance use disorders. However, the evidence is rapidly developing, and dissemination has already begun.

Technology holds the promise of providing service to more people, to people in remote areas, and to people with limitations that prevent them from participating fully in services as they are currently structured. In addition, mobile technologies provide go-anywhere, always-available access to support; push technology that can deliver content or services on a random or scheduled basis; and sensors that can identify troubling times, geographic locations, or physical states and intervene as needed. Mobile technologies offer a solution to the perennial problem of chronic disease: the patient always needs to manage it, but the care provider cannot always be present.

With ICTs, treatment providers could have access to significantly more data regarding a patient's condition. This could improve the quality of care or overwhelm the provider with too much information to adequately process and react to. Research must be conducted on how providers adjust their practice to increased contact with patient information. Tools need to be developed that synthesize the multiple data sources into information that is useful to the provider and to the patient.

A key to widespread adoption of ICT solutions is a transformation of the regulatory and funding environment to support continuing care and interactions that are not face-to-face, may cross state boundaries, and may be intermittent but extend over a long period of time. The US Food and Drug Administration is still struggling with whether and at what point ICTs become medical devices that require regulation for safety and efficacy. The rapid rate at which these technologies are evolving pushes the limits of slow-moving regulatory systems to respond.

Policymakers and payers will seek data on costs as well as benefits before they will be willing to address regulation and reimbursement. Addiction often leads to crime and health problems such as infections, dental issues, and HIV. The few economic analyses of continuing care generally yield positive results [ 79- 82] but focus on 1) special populations (eg, prisons), 2) only one of several important outcomes, 3) small sample sizes that limit power and nonequivalent control group designs, 4) short-term follow-up (although alcohol and other drug dependence is a chronic disease), and 5) patients who complete continuing care (ie, the studies do not employ an intent-to-treat design) [ 83]. For ICTs to become a standard of care, research must overcome these deficits and have real comparative effectiveness studies of smart phones and other ICTs in treatment and relapse prevention [ 84].

ICTs represent an exciting and promising development in the treatment of substance use disorders. The technology is advancing rapidly, but whether it is adopted widely depends on a host of technological and nontechnological factors that must be addressed effectively if we are to achieve the promise.

Footnotes

Disclosure No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.

Contributor Information

Kimberly Johnson, NIATx/Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies (CHESS), University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering, 4155 Mechanical Engineering Building, 1513 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706, USA.

Andrew Isham, Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies (CHESS), University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering, 4155 Mechanical Engineering Building, 1513 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706, USA.

Dhavan V. Shah, University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Letters and Science, 5162 Vilas Communication Hall, 821 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706, USA.

David H. Gustafson, Center for Health Enhancement Systems Studies (CHESS), University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering, 4109 Mechanical Engineering Building, 1513 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706, USA.

References

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Potential Roles for New Communication Technologies in Treatment of Addiction

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Information and communication technologies offer clinicians the opportunity to work with patients to manage chronic conditions, including addiction. The early research on the efficacy of electronic treatment and support tools is promising.

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http://smallbusiness.chron.com/technology-improve-business-2188.htmlhttp://smallbusiness.chron.com/technology-improve-business-2188.html

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How Does Technology Improve a Business?

In this century, the question isn't how much can technology improve your business but is it possible to conduct business without relying heavily on technology? Here are some current and near-future technology applications that will improve businesses - including yours.

Faster, More Comprehensive Communication

Sometimes, radical improvements in communication made possible by the internet and associated devices - such as laptops and smart phones - can become so sophisticated as to become oppressive. Nobody needs 200 business emails a day. Nevertheless, once you organize your communication tactics and strategies around these available communication resources, things will move faster. They'll also move more reliably, via apps that timestamp the opening of emails to clients and they'll do so at a lower cost, once you beat back your cell phone provider's monthly charges, that is - or you move to a lower cost provider, as rates continue to fall.

Increased Use of "The Cloud"

Recently, high-tech communication possibilities have been further enhanced by the increased use of "the cloud" as a communication resource. For example, film or music producers in different cities can simultaneously work on a single project simultaneously that's available to both of them via the cloud. Expert surgeons already oversee surgical operations on other continents via virtual operating theaters. Eventually, medical procedures that are entirely machine-driven can be supervised virtually from anywhere in the world, from a single physical operating theater.

New Communications Technologies

As computer processing speeds and storage capabilities continue to increase, new communication technologies will arise. Emerging virtual presence technologies will make it easier and more effective for executives, speakers, coaches and technologists of every kind to make virtual presentations anywhere around the globe, with all the advantages of physical presence but without the limitations.

Resource Management and Efficiency

These same communication technologies are already changing resource management and eventually will radically restructure how we work. Today, a single operator can deploy various military resources all over the globe. Tomorrow, a single operator will be able control and supervise fleets of unmanned transport vehicles at lower cost, with higher reliability and lower accident rates.

Similarly, experts can be virtually deployed almost instantly to solve production and other problems anywhere in the world. Amazon's much-touted drone program not only has regulatory and legal issues to face, but also the practical, every day problem of pets, children, and - most importantly, getting them to stay in the air long enough to fly long distances, according to a 2016 Gartner report published in The New York Times. But The Times also stated that a future of autonomous drones is much closer than a future of self-driving cars.

Labor Cost Savings

The most significant emerging technologies already changing the way we work are in automation and automated learning. Tesla's production plant for its new Model 3 electric passenger vehicle has very few workers, and they're largely there to observe and - when necessary - correct or modify a production process. Most of the work is done via machines that communicate directly with one another.

In recent years, one of the most promising fields for young workers has been in computer programming and coding. In 2019, at least 25 million programmers are working globally. It's nearly certain that in the near future, programming and coding jobs will increase, but gradually, computers will begin to program other computers or they will reprogram themselves. Futurists predict that eventually most humans will not work for a living.

Safety Advantages Through Technology

One of the more remarkable increases in worker safety during the past 50 years has been in the inherently risky business of automobile racing. In the 1950s, there were five Formula One fatalities. Although there were many more Formula One events in the 1990s, there were only two fatalities during the entire decade.

The technological innovations that drove down the fatality rate in Formula One racing made automobiles safer, generally. The advent of the driver-less automobile will surely reduce fatality rates further - computers don't get drunk and drive, they have no interest in showing off and they exist only to concentrate on their primary task. The increased safety of highway travel globally - beyond lowering fatality rates and making traveling safer, will also lower insurance rates and will generally reduce the cost of business-related transport.

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In this century, the question isn't how much can technology improve your business but is it possible to conduct business without relying heavily on technology? Here are some current and near-future technology applications that will improve businesses - including yours.

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Today most teens insist on sporting the latest gadgets, and their technospeak can leave you pulling at your hair. Alarmingly, this newfound love for screens and routers distracts some teens, instead of enabling their education. And teenage internet addiction can be a difficult problem to resolve.

So, if you are one of those concerned parents whose teenage daughter refuses to look up from her phone, or travel without her laptop, consider reading the post below. Here, we look at internet addiction and technology addiction in teens and how it affects teens.

Teens And Technology:

A technology addiction is the uncontrollable urge to use the Internet and other electronic devices to an extent that it impedes the daily life of an individual.

It is a collective term for internet addiction, excessive use of social media, video games, cyber porn, online gambling, and excessive use of smartphones and other gadgets. Teenage technology addiction is also referred to as Internet addiction disorder (IAD), Internet use disorder (IUD) or simply Internet addiction.

Like other addictions, a technology addict becomes tolerant to the time spent on the addictive behavior and needs to constantly increase the use to achieve the 'high' from the addiction .

Causes Of Technology Addiction In Teens:

A technology addiction can occur for a variety of reasons:

A history of mental health disorders can cause any type of addiction including technology and teenagers Internet addiction.

Low self esteem is always a cause for addictions. People who are shy or have poor self esteem may find it easy to connect with others on the Internet where anonymity is possible.
[ Read: Effects Of Social Media On Teens ]
Lack of support at home or poor family environment can become a reason for technology addiction [2].

Symptoms Of Technology Addiction In Teens:

The addict becomes tolerant to the addiction. He needs to give more and more time to the addictive behavior to satisfy his urges.

The addict uses technology or the Internet to deal with any type of negative feeling or depressive thoughts.
[ Read: Effects Of Mobile Phones On Teenagers ]
The addict constantly checks his social accounts, text messages and other things [3].

Like all addictions, the addict can experience withdrawal symptoms if he is away from technology or the Internet for a period of time.

The addict is ready to sacrifice personal relationships, career and family in favor of the addiction.

Poor eating habits

Increased obesity

Depression

Loneliness

Anxiety

Aggression

Attention problems in school, low attention span

Lack of empathy

Poor sleep

Poor academic performance

Social phobia

Increased instances of cyberbullying

Increased instances of substance abuse

Growth issues

Unable to control impulse to use the Internet/technology

Feelings of happiness when using Internet or thinking about using the Internet

There are many symptoms that can indicate the presence of a internet technology addiction in teenagers.

Effects Of Technology On Teenagers:

Technology and internet addiction in teenagers can have far reaching effects on the addict and his family. Teenagers with technology addiction can suffer from a variety of physical and psychological health problems.

Teens who spend a lot of time playing video games can suffer from social phobia and poor academic performance. These teens are at increased risk of delinquent behavior. Teens addicted to 'massively multiplayer online games' (MMOGs) or 'massively multiplayer online role-playing games' (MMORPGs) can suffer from extreme social isolation. Teenagers who have an extreme addiction to MMORPGs can also suffer from seizures according to one study.
[ Read: Internet Safety Tips For Teens ]
MMORPGs games like World of Warcraft (WoW) and Guild Wars are popular all over the world. Millions of people play this game every day. With new exciting levels and challenges every step of the play, these games can become addictive easily. Since MMORPGs are role-playing games with fantasy themes, it is a form of escapism when turned to an addiction.

Teens playing MMORPGs also expose themselves to identity theft on the Internet. Teens internet addiction such as video games may not pay as much attention to security protocols needed on the Internet and risk a host of cyber problems such as damage to their computers, falling prey to bullies and other nefarious characters on the Internet who prey on children and young adults.
[ Read: All About Teen Texting ]
Studies indicate that Internet is also a means for teens to fuel other addictions in the online domain. Your teenager can get addicted to online gambling or pornography. Access to information and data at the click of a key can also become an addiction and lead to information overload and excessive use of Internet.

Your teen's technology addiction can have an impact on your entire family. It can disrupt routines of your other kids, make the home environment inharmonious and be stressful for all.

Set strict time limit for Internet use at home.

Restrict the use of video games, television and other gadgets.

Ask your kids to use only the family computer for all their online activities at home.

Supervise the time your kids spend on the Internet.

Sort through the video games your kids prefer and set restriction on their use or time or both.

Spend time with your child to understand the source of his addiction. It is important for parents to know what makes their children find solace on the Internet.

Talk to your teen's teachers to understand problems at school, if any.

Create positive environment at home. Your teen could be spending excessive time on the Internet to escape the problems at home. This excessive time spend on technology can easily turn into an addiction.

Enforce no-Internet time at home or consequences for breaking rules about using technology at home.

General Effects :

Analyzing Technology Addiction In Teens:

Here is a detailed analysis of effects of teenagers addiction to technology.

Teenagers who spend a lot of their time on video games and other Internet activity are more susceptible to attention problems, loneliness, depression, suicidal thoughts and feelings of sadness. Excessive amount of screen time can also cause headaches and back pain in teens. These teens who have technology addiction can also suffer from violent tendencies, aggression and social isolation.

Treating Technology Addiction In Teens:

You can seek treatment for your teen's technology addiction through therapy or with improved home dynamics. You can seek counseling sessions for your teenager. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is known to help teens with different types of addictions including that of technology and the Internet. CBT is a type of talk therapy useful for various psychological problems.

Preventing Technology Addiction In Teens:

If your teen is addicted to technology and the Internet, you can take several measures to help your child.

Teen technology addiction, like all addictions, is an indication that your child needs your help. So, instead of simply banning technology from home, try to find the source of his addiction to drive away his addiction for good.

Recommended Articles:

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Today most teens insist on sporting the latest gadgets, and their technospeak can leave you pulling at your hair. Alarmingly, this newfound love for screens and routers distracts some teens, instead of enabling their education. And teenage internet addiction can be a difficult problem to resolve.

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