magazine issue 9 2018 / Issue 38

Social Machines: Social Aspects of Human-Computer Interaction

• written by Flora Almosdi & Adrienn Ujhelyi
• edited by Mitch Brown

Have you ever experienced the frustration of your computer not behaving as it should? Maybe it started to reboot during your most important meeting, or it simply froze and despite your best efforts, you couldn’t restart it. Take a moment to recall your reactions: how did you feel and behave? Did you mutter angry half-sentences? Did you shout at the machine in frustration? Did you threaten it that you will buy a new, better...

The Effect of Acute Stress on Memory: How It Helps and How It Hurts

• written by Carey Marr, Melanie Sauerland, Henry Otgaar, Conny Quaedflieg & Lorraine Hope
• edited by Lucas Keefer

Although we often perceive the effect of stress negatively, research suggests that stress effects are not always detrimental. This review paper examines the impact that acute stress has on memory formation and retrieval by highlighting the ways that stress can help improve memory, but also the ways in which it typically harms memory. This paper focuses on the neurobiology behind the stress response, the ways in which researchers typically examine...

Risk assessment tools and criminal reoffending: Does bias determine who is “high risk”?

• written by Jennifer Kamorowski, Maartje Schreuder, Corine de Ruiter, Marko Jelícic & Karl Ask
• edited by Emir Efendic

In The Netherlands in 1993, a man named Thomas was convicted of an arson in which no one was injured. Thomas was sentenced to four years in prison and involuntary treatment in a secure mental health facility. Based solely on professional opinion, Thomas was deemed too dangerous for release. If risk assessment tools had been available and used to evaluate Thomas, he would likely have been deemed a low risk to reoffend [1]. On the other...

Understanding Online Child Sexual Abuse and How to Talk to Children About it

• written by Malin Joleby, Carolina Lunde & Linda Jonsson
• edited by Crystal Steltenpohl

The new digital technology provides children with endless opportunities to explore and communicate. Still, it is important to prepare them for potential risks that they might encounter online, just as we prepare them for potential risks in the offline environment. In this article, you will learn how to create a safer online environment by talking to children about the internet and online sexual abuse.

On a cold winter morning in March 2013, a 13-year-old girl committed...