Are vulnerable farmers more easily influenced?Heterogeneous effects of Internet use on the adoption of integrated pest management

The Internet is believed to bring more technological dividends to vulnerable farmers during the green agriculture transformation.However,this is different from the theory of skill-biased technological change,which emphasizes that individuals with higher levels of human capital and more technological endowments benefit more.This study investigates the effects of Internet use on farmers'adoption of integrated pest management(IPM),theoretically and empirically,based on a dataset containing 1015 farmers in China's Shandong Province.By exploring the perspective of rational inattention,the reasons for the heterogeneity of the effects across farmers with different endowments,i.e.,education and land size,are analyzed.The potential endogeneity issues are addressed using the endogenous switching probit model.The results reveal that:(1)although Internet use significantly positively affects farmers'adoption of IPM,vulnerable farmers do not benefit more from it.Considerable selection bias leads to an overestimation of technological dividends for vulnerable farmers;(2)different sources of technology information lead to the difference in the degree of farmers'rational inattention toward Internet information,which plays a crucial role in the heterogeneous effect of Internet use;and(3)excessive dependence on strong-tie social network information sources entraps vulnerable farmers in information cocoons,hindering their ability to reap the benefits of Internet use fully.Therefore,it is essential to promote services geared towards elderly-oriented Internet agricultural technology information and encourage farmers with strong Internet utilization skills to share technology information with other farmers actively.

The Relationship between Students’ Anxiety and Internet Use Disorders: A Meta-Analysis

Theoretical models have predicted a positive association between anxiety and Internet use disorders.However,thefindings of previous studies are conflicting,with some reporting a positive association and others proposing no relationship between the two.To explore the true relationship between the two and analyze the reasons for the differences,100 primary studies involving 108,539 subjects were entered into a meta-analysis.The results showed that(1)there was a significant positive correlation between students’anxiety and Internet use disorder(r=0.330);(2)the moderating effect of anxiety type was significant.(3)The moderating effects of the measurement instrument for Internet use disorder,the measurement instrument for anxiety,the subject’s grade level,the subject’s region,and the type of publication were not significant.The question of how the different anxiety types of students and IUD have different mechanisms of action needs to be further explored.

Internet addiction and problematic Internet use: A systematic review of clinical research

AIM: To provide a comprehensive overview of clinical studies on the clinical picture of Internet-use related addictions from a holistic perspective. A literature search was conducted using the database Web of Science.METHODS: Over the last 15 years, the number of Internet users has increased by 1000%, and at the same time, research on addictive Internet use has proliferated. Internet addiction has not yet been understood very well, and research on its etiology and natural history is still in its infancy. In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association included Internet Gaming Disorder in the appendix of the updated version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders(DSM-5) as condition that requires further research prior to official inclusion in the main manual, with important repercussions for research and treatment. To date, reviews have focused on clinical and treatment studies of Internet addiction and Internet Gaming Disorder. This arguably limits the analysis to a specific diagnosis of a potential disorder that has not yet been officially recognised in the Western world, rather than a comprehensive and inclusive investigation of Internet-use related addictions(including problematic Internet use) more generally. RESULTS: The systematic literature review identified a total of 46 relevant studies. The included studies used clinical samples, and focused on characteristics of treatment seekers and online addiction treatment. Four main types of clinical research studies were identified, namely research involving(1) treatment seeker characteristics;(2) psychopharmacotherapy;(3) psychological therapy; and(4) combined treatment. CONCLUSION: A consensus regarding diagnostic criteria and measures is needed to improve reliability across studies and to develop effective and efficient treatment approaches for treatment seekers.

Does Internet use promote the adoption of agricultural technology?Evidence from 1449 farm households in 14 Chinese provinces

China is characterized as ’a large country with many smallholder farmers’ whose participation in modern agriculture is key to the country’s modern agriculture development. Promoting smallholder farmers’ adoption of modern agricultural production technology is one effective way to improve the capabilities of smallholder farmers. This paper aims to explore the impact of Internet use on the adoption of agricultural production technology by smallholder farmers based on a survey of 1 449 smallholders across 14 provinces in China. The results suggest that Internet use can significantly promote technology adoption, with the probability of adopting new crop varieties, water-saving irrigation technology and straw-returning technology increasing by 0.200, 0.157 and 0.155, respectively. Furthermore, the effect of Internet use is found to be heterogeneous with a greater effect on smallholder farmers having low education levels, limited training, and high incomes. To increase agricultural production technology adoption by smallholders, rural Internet infrastructure and Internet use promotion should be the focus for the Chinese government.

Problematic Internet use in drug addicts under treatment in public rehab centers

BACKGROUND Problematic Internet use(PIU)or Internet addiction has been recognized to be a behavioral addiction characterized by excessive or poorly controlled preoccupations,urges,or behaviors regarding computer use and Internet access that leads to impairment or distress resembling substance abuse.AIM To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of Internet use and abuse in a group of drug addicts from Southern Italy,by means of a specific questionnaire[“Questionario sull’Utilizzo delle Nuove Tecnologie”(QUNT)].METHODS All subjects(183)were heavy smokers,almost 50%of them used heroin and/or opioid compounds,30%alcohol,10%cannabis,8%cocaine,and 5%were polydrug users.Almost 10%of the individuals were also suffering from gambling disorder.RESULTS The time spent online was more than 4 hours a day in the total sample,with a slight prevalence in male subjects.Cocaine and cannabis users spent more than 6 hours online,significantly more than opioid and alcohol abusers.Distribution of the QUNT factors was not different in both sexes.Cocaine users showed higher scores at the“loss of control”,“pornography addiction”,and“addiction to social networks”factors,for the stimulant effect of this substance.Moreover,15 out of the total 17 cocaine users were pathological gamblers.Positive and statistically significant relationships were observed between some QUNT factors and body mass index.CONCLUSION These findings indicate that PIU is less severe in subjects taking sedative substances,such as heroin/opioids and alcohol,than in subjects taking stimulants.Alternatively,it may be used as a“stimulant”trigger in cocaine and cannabis users.Flattening effect of abuse drugs was noted on possible sex-related differences in QUNT items.We observed a sort of“protective”effect of a love relationship and/or living together with a partner,as those engaged subjects showed lower scores on different items than single subjects or those living alone.The relationship between time spent online(and related sedentary lifestyle)and body mass index would suggest that Internet use might be a contributing factor to increasing weight gain and obesity amongst adolescents and young adults worldwide.Our findings also highlighted the specific vulnerability of drug addicts who use stimulants,rather than sedative compounds,to other kinds of behavioral addictions,such as gambling disorder.

Does internet use improve the public evaluation of government environmental governance (GEG) in China? An analysis using the Chinese Social Survey, 2013−2017

Based on three datasets of the Chinese Social Survey(CSS)2013,2015,and 2017 and the National Statistical Yearbook,this study examined whether and in what ways using the Internet may or may not affect the public evaluation of government environmental governance(GEG).There are three main findings.First,Internet use has a negative influence on the public evaluation of GEG.Second,there has been an urban-rural difference in terms of Internet use;especially for the rural resident,increasing their use of the Internet significantly lowered their evaluation of GEG.Third,Internet use affects GEG mainly through political trust,whilst it tends to enhance people’s perception of environmental problems;however,it has little influence on their evaluation of GEG.This finding implies that public evaluation of GEG should be viewed as an important inter-subjective dimension of GEG;especially in the Internet era,it has become increasingly necessary for the government to not only continuously improve the quality of governance by dealing with actual/practical environmental issues,but also enhance its ability to react to the public opinions online effectively and appropriately.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging of internet addiction in young adults

AIM: To report the results of functional magnetic resonance imaging(f MRI) studies pertaining internet addiction disorder(IAD) in young adults.METHODS: We conducted a systematic review on Pub Med, focusing our attention on f MRI studies involving adult IAD patients, free from any comorbid psychiatric condition. The following search words were used, both alone and in combination: f MRI, internet addiction, internet dependence, functional neuroimaging. The search was conducted on April 20^(th), 2015 and yielded 58 records. Inclusion criteria were the following: Articles written in English, patients' age ≥ 18 years, patients affected by IAD, studies providing f MRI results during resting state or cognitive/emotional paradigms. Structural MRI studies, functional imaging techniques other than f MRI, studies involving adolescents, patients with comorbid psychiatric, neurological or medical conditions were excluded. By reading titles and abstracts, we excluded 30 records. By reading the full texts of the 28 remaining articles, we identified 18 papers meeting our inclusion criteria and therefore included in the qualitative synthesis.RESULTS: We found 18 studies fulfilling our inclusion criteria, 17 of them conducted in Asia, and including a total number of 666 tested subjects. The included studies reported data acquired during resting state or different paradigms, such as cue-reactivity, guessing or cognitive control tasks. The enrolled patients were usually males(95.4%) and very young(21-25 years). The most represented IAD subtype, reported in more than 85% of patients, was the internet gaming disorder, or videogame addiction. In the resting state studies, the more relevant abnormalities were localized in the superior temporal gyrus, limbic, medial frontal and parietal regions. When analyzing the task related fmri studies, we found that less than half of the papers reported behavioral differences between patients and normal controls, but all of them found significant differences in cortical and subcortical brain regions involved in cognitive control and reward processing: Orbitofrontal cortex, insula, anterior and posterior cingulate cortex, temporal and parietal regions, brain stem and caudate nucleus.CONCLUSION: IAD may seriously affect young adults' brain functions. It needs to be studied more in depth to provide a clear diagnosis and an adequate treatment.

Antibiotics/antibacterial drug use, their marketing and promotion during the post-antibiotic golden age and their role in emergence of bacterial resistance

During the post-antibiotic golden age, it has seen a massive antibiotic/antibacterial production and an increase in irrational use of these few existing drugs in the medical and veterinary practice, food industries, tissue cultures, agriculture and commercial ethanol production globally. The irrational drug use has been further exacerbated by the increased marketing and promotion of these drugs by the pharmaceutical companies thus increasing their accessibility in the public and hence their improper use. The lack of production and introduction of the newer and effective antibiotic/antibacterial drugs in clinical practice in the post-antibiotic golden age has seen an increase in the emergence of the resistant pathogenic bacterial infections creating a significant problem in the global health of humankind. The massive productions of the antibiotic/antibacterial drugs have contributed to the poor disposal of these drugs and hence many of them are discharged in various water bodies contributing to the environmental antibiotic/antibacterial drug pollution. In the environment, these drugs exert pressure on the environmental bacteria by destroying useful bacteria that are responsible for the recycling of the organic matter and as well as promoting the selection of the resistant pathogenic bacteria that can spread in human and animal population thus causing an increase in the observed bacterial disease burden and hence a significant global public health problem. The resistant bacterial diseases lead to the high cost, increased occurrence of adverse drug reactions, prolonged hospitalization, the exposure to the second- and third-line drugs like in MDR-TB and XDR-TB that leads to toxicity and deaths as well as the increased poor production in agriculture and animal industry and commercial ethanol production.

The Influence of Internet Use on Women’s Depression and Its Countermeasures—Empirical Analysis Based on Data from CFPS

Based on China Family Panel Studies(CFPS)2018 data,the multiple linear regression model is used to analyze the effects of Internet use on women’s depression,and to test the robustness of the regression results.At the same time,the effects of Internet use on mental health of women with different residence,age,marital status and physical health status are analyzed.Then,we can obtain that Internet use has a significant promoting effect on women’s mental health,while the degree of Internet use has a significant inhibitory effect on women’s mental health.In addition,the study found that women’s age,education,place of residence,marital status,length of sleep,working status and physical health status are the main factors affecting the mental health of Chinese women.In the heterogeneity investigation of residence,age,marital status and physical health status,Internet use has a greater negative impact on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale(CES-D8)scores of women in rural areas,has a significant positive impact on the mental health of middle-aged and elderly women or women with spouses,and has a positive impact on the mental health of physically unhealthy women.Therefore,in view of women’s mental health needs and the problems existing in the use of the Internet,this paper puts forward some suggestions to further improve the overall mental health level of women.

Development of a Universal Internet-Based Prevention Program for Ecstasy and New Psychoactive Substances

In recent years, the Internet has received increasing recognition as an effective means of facilitating public health interventions. In particular, delivering prevention for substance use to school students via the Internet appears to be an area of great potential. The Climate Schools: Ecstasy and Emerging Drugs Module, a school-based prevention program, facilitated by the Internet, was developed to address the use of ecstasy and new and emerging drugs (Emerging Psychoactive Substances or Novel Psychoactive Substances). This four-lesson course was designed to be delivered to Australian adolescents (aged 15 to 16 years) during their standard health education classes at school, and is based on a harm-minimisation and social influence approach. The program was developed in response to the important public health challenge of new and emerging drugs as well as to address the prevention of ecstasy use among young people. To our knowledge, this will be the first school- and Internet-based prevention program specifically targeting these substances. This paper describes the process involved in developing this new Internet-based substance use prevention program.

Patient Education Level and Utilization of Internet Resources by Patients in Orthopedic Hip and Knee Consultations

Introduction: Internet has become an increasingly popular source of reference for patients to learn about their medical problems. It is easily accessible, and a large number of uncensored information is available online written from various sources and perspectives. However, the role of internet and its impact on patient’s care and understanding of the disease remains unclear. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role and effect of internet use for patients seeking consultation for hip and knee arthritis. More specifically, the relationship between patient’s education level, internet use, motives for doing background readings, perception of internet information, and reactions to the available information will be studied. Method: Patients seeking orthopaedic consultation for knee or hip arthritis at the Toronto Western Hospital were identified and invited to fill out a questionnaire on their first visit. The questionnaire was designed to assess the patients’ pre-consultation reading habits, their use of internet, and their reaction to what they have read on the internet. The questionnaire also included questions about the respondent’s background.Results: In comparing patients holding college/university degree (CU) with patients having no college/university education (NoCU), the CU group were associated with increased internet use (CU vs. NoCU: 71.0% vs. 48.3%;p 0.01) and background reading (CU vs. NoCU: 82.2% vs. 17.8%;p 0.001) prior to consultation;fewer incidence of anxiety following internet use (CU vs. NoCU: 29.9% vs. 53.6%;p 0.05);and higher rates of decisions influenced by internet use (CU vs. NoCU: 20.8% vs. 3.6%, p 0.05). Internet users demonstrated a higher confidence in gathering and understanding medical information (Internet users vs. non-internet users: 6.59 ± 2.05 vs. 5.03 ± 2.78;p 0.001) and rated the accuracy of information on internet at 7.18 ± 2.01 (max = 10). Conclusion: Internet use can influence patient’s treatment decision, anxiety level, and understanding of their disease. Caregivers must recognize the growing trend of internet use and should counsel and educate their patients appropriately based on what they have read to help them accurately appreciate the nature of their disease.

mHealth as a health system strengthening tool in China

Over the past 70 years,there was a rapid epidemiological transition in disease burden in China,from infectious disease to non-communicable diseases(NCDs),which requires long-term prevention and management.Rapid growth in mobile phone use,internet connectivity and digital health technology,presents new opportunities for improvement in NCD healthcare delivery and population-based outcomes.Although there were a growing number of research to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the mobile health(mHealth)interventions for NCD management,the extent to which mHealth contributes towards the health system strengthening in China remains unknown.In this paper,we provided a high-level overview of mHealth in China and its role for Chinese health system strengthening.We conclude with several recommendations for the future of mHealth research in China based on existing evidence identified.

Association of problematic internet use with depression,impulsivity,anger,aggression,and social anxiety:Results of a national study among Lebanese adolescents

Importance:Several studies conducted worldwide(mostly in Western countries)highlighted the negative effects of problematic internet use,particularly among adolescents aged 12 to 17,including depression,impulsivity,aggression,and social fear and avoidance.In Lebanon,literature on the prevalence and impact of problematic internet use among adolescents is limited.Objective:This study aim was to study the association between problematic internet use and depression,impulsivity,anger,aggression and social phobia among Lebanese adolescents.Methods:A cross-sectional study was performed on 1103 young adolescents(14-17 years),recruited from October 2017 till April 2018.The Internet Addiction Test(IAT)was used to evaluate the level of problematic internet use.Data were analyzed using the MANCOVA analysis.The main independent variable of interest was the IAT,while the dependent variables included the psychological scales.Results:The multivariate analysis taking the psychological scales as the dependent variables and the problematic internet use(IAT score)as an independent variable,showed that problematic internet use was associated with higher depression,impulsivity,aggression,anger,hostility and social anxiety.Interpretation:Problematic internet use has become an important health issue that should not be overlooked,particularly because of the increased use of the internet by adolescents.Educational programs on early exposure to the internet should be developed.

Does Internet Use Improve the Income of Residents? -Empirical Evidence from CGSS2017

The Internet penetration rate rises sharply in recent years in China.This change has had a significant impact on residents’income.By using Chinese General Social Survey(CGSS)data set,this paper investigates whether residents who use the Internet earn a higher income than similar residents who do not use the Internet by using propensity score matching.The results show that there is a premium associated with Internet use.Estimates suggest that a premium for residents who use the Internet is around twice as much for residents who do not use the Internet.Additionally,this paper fi nds that the inlome differences between using the Internet and not using the Internet for groups of middle-aged and elderly resident and agricultural household registration residents are more significant.Based on the research results,several relevant policy implications are presented to improve resident’s income.

USING INTERNET RESOURCES IN THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF ENGLISH

The paper introduces the use of the Internet for both teacher and learner.It shows how the teacher canuse the Internet both for the selection of authentic materials for classroom use and also as a medium forself-improvement and professional updating through the use of discussion forums and mailing lists.Students can use email for academic contact with their tutors and also for self-study.Email and TheWorld Wide Web are explained and a number of mailing lists and websites recommended.

Neuroimaging the effects of smartphone(over-)use on brain function and structure-a review on the current state of MRI-based findings and a roadmap for future research

The smartphone represents a transformative device that dramatically changed our daily lives,including how we communicate,work,entertain ourselves,and navigate through unknown territory.Given its ubiquitous availability and impact on nearly every aspect of our lives,debates on the potential impact of smartphone(over-)use on the brain and whether smartphone use can be“addictive”have increased over the last years.Several studies have used magnetic resonance imaging to characterize associations between individual differences in excessive smartphone use and variations in brain structure or function.Therefore,it is an opportune time to summarize and critically reflect on the available studies.Following this overview,we present a roadmap for future research to improve our understanding of how excessive smartphone use can affect the brain,mental health,and cognitive and affective functions.