The ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2021) is being held virtually from May 8-13, with over 4,500 participants registered. The conference will feature keynote speakers, including Chieko Asakawa and Ruha Benjamin, as well as numerous workshops and accepted papers.
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Scientists analyzed Twitter data during the 2019 Spanish general elections and Charlie Hebdo attack, finding a modular structure with internal hierarchies responding to user interests. This breakthrough in network analysis sheds light on the conditions required for coexistence of macro-scale patterns.
During England's second national lockdown, people with depression experienced distorted perceptions of time, while those dissatisfied with social interactions also reported slower time passage. The findings suggest that mental health and social dissatisfaction play a significant role in how we experience time during isolation.
Researchers found that eye contact causes a distortion in temporal perception, making time seem shorter than it really is. In contrast, deviated gazes do not impact time perception.
Researchers propose marketing sewing as a wellbeing activity and using technology to encourage consumers to adopt slower fashion habits. The study suggests that creating spaces for clothing repair on high streets could help reduce fast fashion's negative environmental impacts.
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A new study published in Psychological Science found that dogs display jealous behaviors when their owners interact with a potential rival, including forcefully attempting to reach the owner. The researchers tested 18 dogs using realistic artificial dogs and fleece cylinders, demonstrating three human-like signatures of jealous behavior.
Arash Ajoudani has made a significant impact on the field of human-robot collaboration and telerobotics with his research. He has contributed to several successful European projects, including ERGO-Lean and SOPHIA, which aim to develop collaborative robotics systems capable of anticipating human behavior.
A study by Indiana University researchers found that competition among free-living female songbirds changes gene activity in the brain, even after the interaction has ended. The effects can last up to two days and are related to epigenetic marks, which chemically modify DNA to link past experience with future behavior.
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An interdisciplinary team proposes an action model to promote psychosocial health by synergistically combining health promotion and prevention concepts. The model includes five elements: psychosocial health, health promotion, disease prevention, and their relationships.
Researchers at Paderborn and Bielefeld University investigate the social practice of explanation in AI systems, aiming to improve transparency and interpretability. They develop a conceptual framework for designing explainable AI systems that involve human interaction and dialogue.
The WE-TRANSFORM project investigates the effects of automation and digitalization on the transport workforce, generating a sector policy agenda based on artificial intelligence and collective intelligence. A collaborative platform will be created to produce knowledge that can be easily used and shared to support durable innovations.
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A University of Ottawa study found that using negative emojis in text messages produces a negative perception of the sender regardless of their true intent. This can lead to being labelled as a 'downer' and affects how warm or cold the receiver finds the message.
Researchers from Colorado State University found that hospitals and schools are interdependent systems that rely on each other for community recovery following extreme events. They developed a social services stability index to measure the stability of these systems in communities.
Researchers used thermography to measure marmosets' emotional responses to call interactions, finding they distinguish dialogues from monologues. Marmosets also prefer cooperative over competitive interactions, aligning with their natural behavior as cooperative breeders.
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A UNSW study in rats shows that social interaction can reverse food and cigarette cravings triggered by social isolation. The study found that socially isolated rats relapsed to nicotine seeking but showed no interest once returned to group housing, highlighting the importance of social interaction in treating substance abuse disorders.
Researchers at McGill University have discovered a possible mechanism that contributes to LSD's ability to increase social interaction, activating serotonin receptors and AMPA receptors in the prefrontal cortex. The findings could lead to the development of novel therapies for anxiety and autism disorders.
A study by York University researchers found that masks impair our ability to recognize faces and alter the way we process them. This decrease in performance can impact daily activities and personal interactions.
A study by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev researchers found that wearing masks reduces facial recognition accuracy by 15%, making it harder to identify people we know. The altered processing style, focusing on individual facial features instead of the entire face, can cause significant errors.
A recent study identified four attributes that predict user satisfaction with customer service chatbots: convenience, useful information, pleasant interaction, and social presence. The researchers found that companies investing in AI-driven chatbot services must prioritize data protection to boost user loyalty.
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Researchers develop model showing group polarization rises with economic decline and rising inequality. Strengthened social safety nets can help minimize conflict across groups.
Researchers found that listeners can accurately identify regional dialects and racial backgrounds from audio clips of English speakers. The study used 144 unique audio clips to categorize speakers into Midland, New York City, Southern U.S., Asian American, Black/African American, or white groups.
A Stanford University study reveals that users' moods play a significant role in shaping their trust in smart technologies. The research found that participants trusted devices more when they were in a positive mood, regardless of the experiment's intent. However, user trust also differed by age group, gender, and education level, with...
A study by Tampere University found that making eye contact with a humanoid robot evokes strong physiological reactions, including arousal and positive emotional responses. The results suggest that interaction between humans and social robots may be surprisingly seamless, as people treat robots instinctively as if they could see them.
A team of researchers discovered detailed similarities between the social networks of honey bees and humans, which can be explained by new theoretical modeling. The study reveals individual differences between honey bees, just like humans, and shows that these patterns are universal across species.
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A study on honey bees found that individual differences in social interactions lead to universal patterns of behavior across species. Genetically related bees show fewer individual differences than humans, but still exhibit some variation in interaction frequency and food sharing.
A new study from MIT finds that long periods of social isolation activate the brain's substantia nigra region in a way similar to food cravings. The researchers used an innovative isolation method to induce strong feelings of loneliness, and found that the resulting craving signal was correlated with self-reported levels of loneliness.
A new paper offers a framework for studying online hate and counter speech, analyzing millions of Twitter interactions. Researchers found that organized movements are more effective than individuals in countering hate speech.
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Researchers created a new model combining SIR theory with dynamical density functional theory to describe the spread of infectious diseases. The results show that social distancing significantly decreases infection rates, reproducing the 'flattening the curve' effect.
New research from UBC Okanagan finds that how people use social media impacts their overall happiness. Passive scrolling and comparison can lead to negative emotions, while direct interactions can enhance emotional well-being.
Researchers found that vampire bats with activated immune systems and feeling sick interacted with fewer bats, spent less time near others, and were less well-connected to the social network. This behavior helps reduce the spread of disease in highly social animals like vampire bats.
Researchers observed 21 male chimpanzees for 78,000 hours to see if they too prefer small circles of meaningful friendships. The study shows that older chimps have more mutual friendships and spend more time grooming those individuals, similar to humans.
A Russian research team found that social brain components are co-activated during group problem-solving, but do not form a holistic system. This suggests that the 'social brain' is not as integrated as previously thought.
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According to a study published in Nature Communications, interactions with outsiders may drive the evolution of intelligence in animals. Big-brained animals have adapted to contend with rival outsiders, requiring considerable brain power to defend territories, find mates and compete for resources.
A research team at Kobe University has identified 'social cells' in the brain related to social behavior, including Social-ON cells that activate during social interactions. The study found that these cells were active when a stranger mouse was present, regardless of location.
A survey of 340 UK residents found that positive social interactions with Chinese people reduced support for discriminatory policies. People with negative experiences were more likely to be fearful and supportive of anti-Chinese measures.
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A new study has found that autistic people's sensorimotor difficulties are likely caused by complex neurobiological processes, including differences in perception. This discovery could pave the way for better treatment and management of these traits.
A study of over 5,300 students from 24 countries found that women are more prone to depression in societies with low gender equality. The research suggests that cultural congruence and inclusion in social groups are key predictors of psychological wellbeing.
A recent study published in The Economic Journal found that bus drivers are more likely to grant free rides to white passengers than Black passengers. The researchers tested the drivers' willingness to provide discretionary favours and discovered a strong racial bias against Black customers.
The conference highlights research on emotion AI, expressive writing, and dialogue systems to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19. Virtual attendees can engage with keynote speakers and other participants in interactive spaces, facilitating social interaction and discussion.
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Researchers discovered that zebrafish use social interactions to achieve near-optimal foraging efficiency and promote equality among group members. The study found that the animals adapt to group size but not food distribution, resulting in a robust foraging strategy.
Researchers at NYU Tandon used a novel approach called 'behavioral teleporting' to study social interactions in live zebrafish. The system allowed them to isolate critical elements of animal behavior and explore predator/prey relationships without posing a risk to the animals.
Researchers found two unique learning signals computed in distinct brain regions, one for direct learning and the other for social learning. This integrated brain network supports social influence in human decision-making, particularly in uncertain situations.
A team of researchers from Italy has proposed a new metric to evaluate the effectiveness of virtual groups. By analyzing interaction data from two Italian-based social networks, they found that trust plays a crucial role in forming cohesive and productive groups.
A recent study found that social components of fitness apps facilitate motivation and beliefs in physical activity, leading to increased engagement. The study highlights the importance of social support in promoting exercise behavior.
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Electrons in Planckian metals exhibit high-temperature superconductivity due to their desire for social distancing. By adjusting the ratio between kinetic energy and interaction energy, researchers created a model that captures the system's behavior down to absolute zero.
A new study by University of Vaasa researchers highlights the importance of strategic social media use in creating customer engagement value. The study identifies four distinct social media marketing strategies: social commerce, content, monitoring, and CRM, which can foster collaborative conversations and enhance customer relationships.
A Dartmouth study has developed an interactive 3D printed circuit education tool for people with visual impairments, providing audio feedback in response to being touched. The tool aims to broaden the inclusivity and accessibility of maker spaces and engineering classrooms.
Researchers analyzed remains from a 30,000-year-old burial site in France, revealing sorted bones and elaborate cave art. The study provides new insights into complex mortuary dynamics of the Gravettian culture.
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The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health experts call for policymakers to prioritize young people's social development and wellbeing during the pandemic. Research suggests that reduced face-to-face interaction with peers may have detrimental effects on brain development, mental health, and self-esteem in adolescence.
Zebrafish studies reveal that isolation causes sensitivity to stimuli and increased brain activity related to stress and anxiety. The results suggest that social isolation can result in a decreased desire for social interaction, contradicting the assumption that loners are simply anti-social.
A new research study investigated how service robots in hotels could help redefine leadership and boost the hospitality industry. The results showed that while service robots increase efficiency, they also pose challenges like high costs and skill deficits.
Researchers scanned brain activity from 10 couples using a new simultaneous imaging method, finding motor and sensory areas were activated during physical contact. The study suggests that brain functions become flexibly linked with each other during real-time social interaction.
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Researchers at UC Davis studied the role of oxytocin in alleviating social withdrawal symptoms in mice, finding that blocking brain pathways affected by stress can reduce social avoidance behaviors. The study suggests potential for pharmacotherapies to effectively treat anxiety disorders.
Researchers at Penn State developed a public-speaking tutor on Amazon Alexa, which helps users recognize and modify negative thinking behaviors. The study found that the tutor eased pre-speech anxiety in participants.
Researchers found trends in human behavior absent in social media bots, including increased social interaction and decreased content production over time. The study suggests these differences can be used to develop more sophisticated bot detection strategies.
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A study published in the Journal of Economic Psychology found that people extend similar levels of trust to humans and robots. However, social emotions such as anger, gratitude, guilt, and pride vary depending on partner type, with participants experiencing more intense emotions when interacting with humans.
At 15 months, infants take into account the efficiency of others' actions to identify rational individuals and predict preferences. They exhibit a preference for interacting with efficient over inefficient individuals.
Researchers outline robots' potential roles in clinical care, logistics, and reconnaissance to combat COVID-19. They suggest robots for disinfection, delivery, and monitoring compliance with quarantines.
A study found that robot vulnerability fosters teamwork by encouraging humans to spend more time talking to each other, leading to more positive team dynamics. The results suggest that designing artificial agents to promote social engagement can lead to improved human collaboration.
A study on vampire bats found that mothers continued to groom and feed their healthy offspring despite feeling sick, suggesting a strong family connection. Social grooming among unrelated bats decreased when they were ill, but food sharing remained consistent, highlighting the importance of social behavior in survival.
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