Editors note: This piece is part of ancontinuing serieson Caltech scientists who are researching the COVID-19 pandemic, each according to their own specialty. From biology, to chemistry, to social sciences, and computing, the keys to fighting the disease are waiting to be discovered.

In times of crisis and uncertainty, it is often a human tendency to look for someone to blame and fear as well as someone to trust and follow. Stress and uncertainty also cause a range of emotions and biases in decision making, leading people to generally become more conservative and risk averse. This influences a host of social behaviors, from altruism and acts of kindness, to voting in politics, to compliance withor protest againstthe very regulations that are being imposed to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ralph Adolphs, Caltechs Bren Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Biology, usually conducts research on human volunteers at the Caltech Brain Imaging Center (which he also directs) to try to understand how the fundamental biology of the brain, as revealed through neural activity, produces the breadth of human feelings, abilities, and these social behaviors. But now, amid months of stay-at-home orders that have kept human subjects off campus and out of his lab, Adolphs has teamed up with several colleagues to craft a long-term internet-based study that examines how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced peoples emotions, attitudes, and biases. Over the course of the year, they will collect a robust trove of data, and although analysis of that data is just starting, they hope what they find will be helpful to social scientists and those designing public policy in the future.

Collaborators on the project includeMichael Alvarez, professor of political and computational social science at Caltech; Gideon Yaffe of Yale Law School; and former Caltech colleagues Damian Stanley (now faculty at the Derner School of Psychology at Adelphi University in New York) and Uri Maoz (now faculty at nearby Chapman University).

We recently spoke to Adolphs about the research he is conducting and what he hopes to learn.

We think that many, many psychological variables will change, and so we are trying to measure most of them. This includes emotions, daily behaviors, attitudes of many kinds, and also biases that influence peoples behavior but of which they are often unaware. Its been well studied that people are biased against those who are not like themselves. For example, Republicans and Democrats are biased against one another, as are people of different religions. Among other things, we are interested in how those kinds of biases will change as a result of what people see in the news and the world around them.

All this psychological change also speaks to a larger unanswered question. We all know that some psychological variables can change easily and quicklyfor instance momentary emotions. But others, like personality traits, seem more resistant to change, at least on a short timescale. Given a huge and persistent stressor like the COVID pandemic, how much can we expect people to actually change? In a sense, this is allowing us to map out which parts of a person can change and what parts stay fairly immutable no matter how much the environment changes.

Experiments in the social sciences are difficult because you have a lot of confounding factors that make it difficult to isolate a cause and because you often have rather weak effects. Additionally, in most studies, participants just know that its an experiment, not the real thing. But now with the COVID pandemic, everyone in the country has been exposed to a major stressor with real consequences, and this is an opportunity to study how that is affecting them.

Were doing an ambitious and expensive longitudinal data collection. Each week, over the internet, we are asking the same questions of the same 1,000-plus people from all 50 states. We are asking about their identification with various political, religious, racial, ethnic, and social groupsas well as about their experiences related to COVID, adherence to public health recommendations, and trust in political and scientific leadersand about various psychological factors such as personality, mood, and coping behaviors. For example, we are acquiring detailed measurements of peoples emotions, through a number of questionnaires that assess a range of emotions. How do peoples emotions reflect the COVID-related regulations in their state and county? Do people become happier when parks and beaches are opened up again, or do some of them actually become more anxious? By relating the outcomes of these assessments to the large amount of background data we have on the participants, we can build models that provide better explanations. It might turn out that people with certain personality traits are the ones that become anxious rather than happy when parks open, and our data could test that.

We have done six waves of data collection by now, and our hope is to track these 1,000 people and their attitudes through the rest of the year. Its going to be a really unique data set, and we plan to make all the data available for other researchers to use as well.

There are lots of large databases similar to ours, but, to the best of my knowledge, none like this in response to the COVID pandemic. In general, social scientists measure only a few variables, not the full array of surveys and tasks that we have in our study. Several of the tasks in our study were designed specifically to probe psychological change in relation to COVID-related topicsfor instance, change in peoples attitudes toward masks or toward health care workers. The longitudinal nature of the study is also noteworthy. There are sophisticated data analysis tools that social scientists at Caltech use to build quantitative models of human behavior; one main limitation is that you need a lot of data. Well, well have that data now.

We hope that a lot of the information we collect will be useful to people developing public health policy. We need basic data about what kinds of changes people are willing to make to their behavior and what kinds of attitudes, emotions, and context could best persuade them to do so. For instance, wearing face masks has not been a social norm in America, but this is changing in some groups. Why? What motivates that change? Who is most resistant to it? What factors could we identify to maximize compliance?

But as I mentioned, the study is collecting such a rich array of measures that I think it will be a treasure trove for social scientists on quite a number of topics: Which psychological variables can change rapidly, and which are stable over time? How are emotions and social attitudes influencing political partisanship, and how will all these psychological changes influence our upcoming federal elections? By collecting all of these measures on every one of our participants, repeatedly over time, we will be able to look not only at how peoples psychology can change over time but also at how all the different psychological variables influence one another.

Adolphs is an affiliated faculty member of theTianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience.

Further description of the study and the group can be found athttp://conte.caltech.edu/content/covid-dynamic

Details on the questionnaires and tasks can be found athttps://osf.io/sb6qx.

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Social Science in the Time of COVID: A Conversation with Caltech's Ralph Adolphs - Pasadena Now

Human Behavior

Rep. Ayanna Pressley Calls For Focus To Remain On Peaceful Activism, Passing Legislation That Condemns Police Brutality – wgbh.org

June 1, 2020 medical

On Monday, after an hours-long peaceful protest calling for the end of police brutality in Boston turned toward violent clashes between police officers and individuals, Rep. Ayanna Pressley called for the focus to remain on the peaceful activism, and on the reasons why protests and activism remain necessary today to fight racist policies that have been in place for decades.

"Community organizers are community builders. They are not destroyers," Pressley said on Boston Public Radio Monday. "And it is deeply painful that there are forces at work to infiltrate and to undermine the good work, the vigilant work, of people who are committed to peace and justice in earnest, despite how slow coming that has been."

Pressley became audibly emotional when discussing how many years the fight for racial equality in the United States has gone on for, mentioning the work of Rep. John Lewis, the Freedrom Rider with whom she serves in U.S. Congress.

"I'm just trying to keep it together, honestly," Pressley said, calling recent events "a traumatic deja vu." She said that "the Black Lives Matter movement is a continuation of the work of many Freedom Riders and activists that came before us."

"There is so much brutality and murder and lynching and choking and surveying and policing. You know, it's just so much trauma, just intergenerational trauma," she said. "And what is maddening about it is that it can be stopped."

Pressley said she believes that the best way to combat "draconian laws, discriminatory laws [that have] codified hurt" for years is to pass new legislation that "can codify healing."

Pressley and Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota filed a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday "condemning police brutality, excessive force and racial profiling," she said, following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other black Americans by police. Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was seen on video pressing his knee into Floyd's neck as he said he couldn't breathe, was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter on Friday.

"We need to enact uniform standards and restrictions on the use of force and the elimination of special protections, protecting police officers and departments from being held accountable in case of brutality and abuse," Pressley said. Congress "must act as the conscience for our nation" and pass the legislation, she said.

Pressley, who was a Boston City Councilor before becoming a U.S. congresswoman, said that it will take action from all levels of government to enact change.

"I know when you're talking about systemic injustice, sometimes people will chalk it up to culture, but culture is human behavior. And it can be changed," Pressley said. "And I think that begins by holding all accountable, from this White House to our State House to our City Hall, to root out the scourge of police brutality and the many other intersectional injustices that also play a part."

The congresswoman also acknowledged that the protests are taking place during a pandemic that has disproportionately affected black people and other people of color, which, combined with structural racism, has culminated in feelings of "loss and trauma and fear" for many.

When asked how white people who do not understand the reasons for the recent protests and activism should better educate themselves, Pressley said people must be intentional and specific in their organizing and who they choose to vote for.

"It's not enough to just say you're not a racist. You have to be actively anti-racist," she said.

"There are numerous pieces of legislation ... that we all need to continue to apply the pressure to see expedited and advance," Pressley said. "This is about saving lives. Justice is about dignity. You know, and that's what's exhausting is that you have to keep organizing just to affirm your very humanity and your dignity."

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Rep. Ayanna Pressley Calls For Focus To Remain On Peaceful Activism, Passing Legislation That Condemns Police Brutality - wgbh.org

Human Behavior

Young Children’s Use of Smartphones and Tablets | American Academy of Pediatrics – AAP News

June 1, 2020 medical

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Child mobile device use is increasingly prevalent, but research is limited by parent-report survey methods that may not capture the complex ways devices are used. We aimed to implement mobile device sampling, a set of novel methods for objectively measuring child mobile device use.

METHODS: We recruited 346 English-speaking parents and guardians of children aged 3 to 5 years to take part in a prospective cohort study of child media use. All interactions with participants were through e-mail, online surveys, and mobile device sampling; we used a passive-sensing application (Chronicle) in Android devices and screenshots of the battery feature in iOS devices. Baseline data were analyzed to describe usage behaviors and compare sampling output with parent-reported duration of use.

RESULTS: The sample comprised 126 Android users (35 tablets, 91 smartphones) and 220 iOS users (143 tablets, 77 smartphones); 35.0% of children had their own device. The most commonly used applications were YouTube, YouTube Kids, Internet browser, quick search or Siri, and streaming video services. Average daily usage among the 121 children with their own device was 115.3 minutes/day (SD 115.1; range 0.20632.5) and was similar between Android and iOS devices. Compared with mobile device sampling output, most parents underestimated (35.7%) or overestimated (34.8%) their childs use.

CONCLUSIONS: Mobile device sampling is an unobtrusive and accurate method for assessing mobile device use. Parent-reported duration of mobile device use in young children has low accuracy, and use of objective measures is needed in future research.

Previous studies of young childrens mobile device use rely on parent recall or time-use diaries, which may be inaccurate or carry high participant burden. No previous studies in children have harnessed application usage data already collected by mobile devices.

Mobile device sampling (passive sensing for Android and screenshots from iOS devices) is an acceptable and feasible objective method for assessing mobile device use. Parent-reported duration of their childs mobile device use had low accuracy compared with objective output.

Childrens use of mobile and interactive media has increased rapidly over the past decade.1 Recent estimates reveal that the majority of parents own smartphones,2 on which they allow their children to play games or watch videos. Up to 75% of young children have their own tablets,3 and infants are estimated to start handling mobile devices during the first year of life,1 but research on modern media has been limited by a lack of precise measurement tools.

Research on traditional screen media, such as television, historically used parent recall of child media use duration to test associations with outcomes such as sleep problems, obesity, and externalizing behavior.4 Similarly, studies of the benefits of educational television programming relied on parent recall and content analysis of linear, noninteractive programs.5,6 As the proportion of time that children spend on mobile platforms increases,1 media researchers are posed with a challenge of measuring on-demand, portable, and intermittent mobile device usage.7,8 Participant recall accuracy of mobile device use may be low because exposure occurs in small bursts8 (less likely to be remembered than longer interactions9), and parents may find it difficult to monitor content when children use handheld devices individually.10

Mobile devices collect usage data that could feasibly be harnessed for the purposes of research studies. Analysis of various data streams (eg, accelerometer, Bluetooth, location) has been used in public health research to predict patterns of human behavior11 but collects more data than is necessary for the purposes of media use measurement. In a few studies, researchers have used commercially available or prototype applications (apps) (ie, created by researchers) to test hypotheses in adults regarding mental health and smartphone use12 or motivations for using different apps,13 but no previous research has been conducted by using similar measures on the devices of children. Harnessing mobile data from childrens devices may provide more accurate data collection with lower participant and researcher burden.

Our objective for the current study was to implement novel mobile device sampling methods in a community-based sample of preschool-aged children to describe their mobile device usage and compare parent report of child use with mobile device sampling output. We describe the development of this method, important considerations during implementation, and types of variables that can be generated for research. On the basis of pilot research revealing that most of parents recall of their own mobile device use is inaccurate,14 we hypothesized that most parents would be inaccurate in reporting their childs mobile device use.

The Preschooler Tablet Study is a longitudinal cohort study (Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development grant R21HD094051) in which associations between early childhood digital media use, emotion regulation, and executive functioning are examined. Data were collected through online surveys and e-mail communication with participants, mobile device sampling, and an online time-use diary completed by parents at baseline and at the 3- and 6-month follow-up. Data from the baseline data collection wave (August 2018 to May 2019) are included in the present article. The study was approved by the University of Michigan Institutional Review Board.

Parents of young children were recruited via flyers posted in community centers, preschools, child care centers, and pediatric clinics in southeast Michigan as well as our universitys online participant registry and social media advertisements. Interested parents who contacted the study team were e-mailed a link to an eligibility questionnaire. Eligibility criteria included the following: (1) the parent was the legal guardian of a 3- to 4.99-year-old child, (2) the parent lived with the child at least 5 days/week, (3) the parent understood English sufficiently to complete questionnaires and provide consent, and (4) the family owned at least one Android or iOS tablet or smartphone. Children did not need to regularly use mobile devices to be included in the study. Exclusion criteria included presence of child developmental delays, use of psychotropic medication, and the childs mobile device being a Kindle or Amazon Fire (n = 43 interested but excluded), which do not use the standard Android operating system.

Because all interactions with the research team were electronic, we anticipated a high rate of attrition. Of 487 parents who consented to take part in the study, 64 (13%) submitted no study data after providing informed consent and receiving electronic reminders.

After providing online consent for themselves and their child, parents were e-mailed study instructions and a link to online Research Electronic Data Capture15,16 surveys, in which parents reported their childs age, sex, race and/or ethnicity, preschool or child care enrollment, and prematurity; their own age, sex, educational attainment, marital status, and employment status; and household income and size (from which we calculated the income-to-needs ratio).

Parents then completed an abbreviated version (36 items) of the Media Assessment Qualtrics Survey, which is used to assess child, parent, and household media use practices. In this survey, parents were asked, Thinking about a typical [weekday or weekend], how much time does your child spend using 1) an iPad, tablet, LeapPad, iTouch, or similar mobile device (not including a smartphone) and 2) a smartphone for things like texting, playing games, watching videos, or surfing the Internet (dont count time spent talking on the phone)? Responses were never, <30 minutes, 30 minutes to 1 hour, 1 to 2 hours, 2 to 3 hours, 3 to 4 hours, 4 to 5 hours, and >5 hours. Because mobile sampling included both weekdays and weekends, we created a weighted categorical variable that reflected parent estimates of their childs usual smartphone or tablet use throughout the week.

During eligibility screening, parents indicated what type(s) of mobile device(s), if any, the child regularly had access to or used. If the child used >1 device, we sampled the device used more frequently and asked the parent to avoid letting the child play on other devices that week. We provided video and visual instructions specific for tracking the device on a study Web site (see Mobile Device Sampling Methods: Installation and Data Collection in the Supplemental Information).

Android users were instructed to download a study app, Chronicle, from the Google Play store (Supplemental Figs 1 and 2). The Chronicle app was developed by OpenLattice, Inc, in collaboration with the Comprehensive Assessment of Family Media Exposure Consortium. It queries the Google UsageStatsManager application programming interface (API), which provides data about app usage on all Android devices running version 5.0 or later and transmits data automatically to the OpenLattice platform. Chronicle was pilot tested on a range of Android devices in June 2018 to July 2018, which allowed app debugging to ensure accuracy by comparing handwritten usage logs with raw output.

In the informed consent document, parents were informed that Chronicle only collects app name, timestamp, and a masked device identification but does not collect personal information (eg, contacts, content of messages, Web sites viewed) and that data are stored in a secure server and not shared with third-party companies. After installing Chronicle, parents were e-mailed a unique link routing their app data to the research team on the OpenLattice platform. The app user interface is simple, only providing a timestamp of the last data upload (see Android Mobile Devices in the Supplemental Information), and runs in the background with no need for user interaction. Data are continually collected locally on the device and uploaded every 15 minutes when connected to WiFi. After 9 days, participants were instructed to uninstall Chronicle after confirming that data had been uploaded that day (ie, in case the devices had been recently disconnected from WiFi). The study team then exported the Chronicle data file through the Chronicle Web application in comma-separated values (CSV) format and conducted data cleaning and processing steps as described in the Chronicle Data Cleaning Methods section of the Supplemental Information.

For children who used an iPhone or iPad, we asked parents to take a screenshot of the devices battery page (under Settings) 7 days after completing the surveys. Instructions for taking screenshots, including the specific buttons that need to be tapped to visualize app usage over the past 7 to 10 days, were provided via the study Web site (see Apple Mobile Devices in the Supplemental Information; see also Supplemental Fig 3).

When parents sent screenshots that did not follow study instructions, the study team responded by e-mail the same day, offering clarification on screenshot methods and requesting that new ones be sent. However, if screenshots were still incorrectly taken at this point, they were flagged for potential errors and manually inspected before inclusion in final data sets. Research assistants manually entered all screenshot data (app name, number of minutes) into spreadsheets.

At the end of the sampling period, parents were asked whether the device had been shared with any other family members that week. If the parents responded yes (70.6% of Android users; 61.8% of iOS users), they completed a data form listing the names of the apps their child used that week. We created a subset of data files to include only the apps that children used during the sampling period.

We developed a coding scheme to categorize apps on the basis of app store labels (eg, educational, age category), video chat, YouTube, streaming video, and other common categories such as eBooks or music (see Supplemental Table 4 for coding scheme; interrater reliability = 0.720.94).

First, for all children with complete mobile device data (n = 346), we analyzed differences in sociodemographic characteristics by operating system and shared or unshared status. We calculated frequencies of the most commonly played apps and the number of different apps played by each child during the sampling week.

For children with their own, unshared mobile Android or iOS device (n = 121), we created summary variables representing each childs average daily duration of device use, average daily duration of app categories, and average daily duration of specific apps played during the sampling period. We chose not to calculate daily duration from shared mobile devices because of the risk of overestimating duration of apps such as YouTube, Safari, or Netflix, which are commonly used by both children and parents.

For children with unshared Android devices (n = 37), whose output provides date and timestamps, we additionally calculated average usage by day of the week, proportion of days the child used the device, and average number of daily pickups. For illustrative purposes, we plotted the average hourly app category usage of 6 child participants (4 with heavy use, 2 with lighter use) to demonstrate diurnal visualizations of mobile device usage.

Finally, we calculated accuracy of parent-reported mobile device use by determining if each childs average daily usage (based on mobile sampling output) fell within the weighted parent-reported time category. If parent report was inaccurate, we calculated the difference between actual daily usage and the upper or lower bounds of the parent-reported category.

All processing of raw timestamped data into user logs was performed in Python,17 all mobile device sampling analyses were conducted by using data.table in R 3.5.2,18,19 and analyses of demographics and comparison of parent report with sampling output were conducted by using SAS version 9.4 (SAS Institute, Inc, Cary, NC).20

Of the 423 parents who provided any data, 58 (13%) were excluded because of incomplete mobile device data. Reasons for missing mobile device data included the following: could not (n = 7) or decided not to (n = 2) install Chronicle, <2 days of data appeared on server (usually because of server maintenance; n = 13), failed to send iOS screenshots (n = 20), screenshots were incorrect (n = 4) or blank (n = 4), and the app list for shared devices was not submitted (n = 8). Participants with missing mobile device data had no significant sociodemographic differences compared with included participants. In addition, 19 children were reported to have never used mobile devices at baseline, so mobile device sampling was not performed; these children were more likely to have parents with higher educational attainment (2 test; P = .02).

Characteristics of the full sample (N = 346) and the unshared device subsample (n = 121) are shown in Table 1. Participants comprised 126 Android users (35 tablets, 91 smartphones) and 220 iOS users (143 tablets, 77 smartphones). Children with iOS devices were more likely to have higher-income families (2-sample Wilcoxon rank test; P < .0001), married parents (2 test; P = .03), and parents with higher educational attainment (2 test; P < .0001).

Participant Demographic Characteristics and Mobile Device Usage

In the full sample, children used between 1 and 85 different apps over the course of the sampling week; the 20 most commonly played apps are listed in Table 2.

Most Commonly Played Apps Among 346 Preschool-Aged Children Who Underwent Mobile Device Sampling for 1 Week

Average daily usage among the 121 children with their own tablet (n = 100) or smartphone (n = 21) was 115.3 minutes (SD 115.1; range 0.20632.5) and was similar between Android (117.7; SD 143.2) and iOS (114.2; SD 101.3) users. More than half (59.5%) of children used their device for an average of 1 hour/day, including 18 (14.9%) who averaged 4 hours/day (Table 1).

Average daily use of the most commonly played apps by children with unshared devices is shown in Table 3; YouTube, YouTube Kids, and streaming video services revealed the highest daily duration, whereas the browser and Quick Search Box or Siri were accessed by a large number of children but used for briefer periods of time.

Average Daily Duration of Most Commonly Played Apps Among 121 Preschool-Aged Children With Their Own Mobile Devices

Among Android users, average pickup frequency was 3.82 per day (SD 5.48), children used devices on most (69.0%) days of sampling (SD 27.1%; range 25%100%), and duration was longest on Fridays and Saturdays (Supplemental Fig 4). Example data visualizations of average usage of different app categories (eg, educational apps, streaming video) and diurnal patterns for specific participants are available in Supplemental Figs 5 and 6, respectively.

Of 115 participants with unshared devices and complete parent-report data, 41 (35.7%) parents underestimated, 34 (29.6%) were accurate, and 40 (34.8%) overestimated their childs device use. Accuracy did not vary by operating system (Android 25.7% versus iOS 31.3%; P = .49). For inaccurate reporters, actual usage was on average 69.7 minutes (SD 67.5) above or below the parent-reported category bounds (median 50.7; range 0.86332.5 minutes). Parents were more likely to overreport when their childs average usage was <1 hour/day and underreport if their childs average usage was 1 hour/day (2 test; P = .001).

This is the first study to use an objective form of mobile devicebased data collection (a method we term mobile device sampling) to examine young childrens tablet and smartphone usage. We found high variability in daily mobile device usage in children with their own smartphones or tablets, with 15% of children averaging 4 hours per day. The most commonly used apps were YouTube and YouTube Kids, followed by browsers, the camera and photograph gallery, and video streaming services such as Netflix.

Compared with our previous pilot research in which we used passive sensing in parents,14 we had significantly lower rates of missing data when using the Chronicle app for Android and screenshot-based data collection for iOS. However, we had an 10% missing data rate for Chronicle, which we are addressing by (1) screening participants to ensure Chronicle compatibility before enrollment, (2) developing new features on the OpenLattice platform to increase stability and reliability of data uploads, and (3) providing in-person installation or phone troubleshooting.

Strengths of this approach include highly reliable data because the Google usage statistics API is maintained by Google and used by thousands of vendors. Participating parents found the mobile sampling methods highly acceptable and were informed of how their childs data would be collected, handled, and destroyed.

A main limitation of our current app is that it cannot identify the user of shared devices, which is important in early childhood when many children do not have their own devices. However, our subset approach allowed us to generate a list of apps used by children who share mobile devices with family members that can be coded for educational value,21 presence of advertising,22 or age-appropriate content. For example, we documented that preschool-aged children use YouTube (36.7% of our sample), general audience apps such as Cookie Jam and Candy Crush (30.6% of our sample), gambling apps such as Cashman, and violent apps such as Terrorist Shooter, Flip the Gun, and Granny, which are intended for use by teenagers and adults. These findings also have implications for child privacy because general audience apps and platforms may not place restrictions on the data they collect or distribute to third-party advertising companies.23

We found low accuracy of parent-reported mobile device duration compared with mobile sampling output, which is consistent with our previous research in parents.24 Inaccurate parents showed an average error of >60 minutes compared with their childs actual daily device use. We therefore suggest that mobile device sampling may be an important future data collection tool for pediatric, adolescent, or adult research. For example, by using Chronicle, it is possible to define variables such as the number of checks of specific apps (eg, social media) per hour, usage during time periods when family meals or routines might occur, or overnight usage. At present, timestamped data are not available for iOS, and data transfer from screenshots is labor intensive; development of similar iOS tracking tools will therefore be necessary to fully assess childrens media landscapes. Mobile sampling will need to be used in combination with methods that capture media use on other platforms (eg, television, video game consoles) and other sensors that detect whether the user is awake (eg, Fitbit) or interacting with others (eg, LENA).

Limitations of our overall study design are worthy of mention. Use of online recruitment allowed for rapid enrollment of multiple families simultaneously because we did not have to schedule study visits, but it also led to higher rates of attrition immediately after enrollment. Our sample was more highly educated and had lower racial and/or ethnic diversity than the general population; future research in nonEnglish-speaking populations is needed once our app interface is updated for other languages. Parents were aware of their childs mobile device usage being tracked, which may have changed their usage behavior. Children may have used other mobile devices during the sampling period, so our results represent a minimum estimate of their true usage. Our app categorization approach was also limited by the fact that apps commonly disappear from app stores and may no longer appear when searched for several months later.

We describe development of a novel mobile device sampling method in which implementation allowed for description of the smartphone and tablet use behaviors of preschool-aged children. Given the limitations of parent report, such objective measurement tools must be developed and refined so that health research (and evidence-based guidelines) can reflect the complex ways modern media are used.

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: Dr Radesky is a consultant for and is on the Board of Directors of Melissa & Doug Toys and receives research support from Common Sense Media; the other authors have indicated they have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose.

FUNDING: Funded by the Institute for Digital Media and Child Development for development of the passive-sensing technology and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (grant 1R21HD094051) for the Preschooler Tablet Study. Research Electronic Data Capture and recruitment support was provided through the Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (Clinical and Translational Science Award UL1TR002240). Funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: The authors have indicated they have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose

COMPANION PAPER: A companion to this article can be found online at http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/doi/10.1542/peds.2020-1242.

Human Behavior

Author’s new book Biology of Religion receives a warm literary welcome – MENAFN.COM

June 1, 2020 medical

(MENAFN - GetNews)

Readers' Favorite announces the review of the Non-Fiction - Religion/Philosophy book "Biology of Religion" by Fil Munas, currently available at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/057818303X .

Readers' Favorite is one of the largest book review and award contest sites on the Internet. They have earned the respect of renowned publishers like Random House, Simon & Schuster, and Harper Collins, and have received the "Best Websites for Authors" and "Honoring Excellence" awards from the Association of Independent Authors. They are also fully accredited by the BBB (A+ rating), which is a rarity among Book Review and Book Award Contest companies.

Reviewed By Liz Konkel for Readers' Favorite

Biology of Religion by Fil Munas explores religion as it pertains to human behavior with the goal of the book being to answer the basic question about what religious behavior is. The book includes thorough facts and well-researched history to present paleontological evidence dating back to the earliest records of religious behavior. Munas explores different interconnections with religion through morality, marriage, and patriarchy. The book goes through various religions which offer different worldviews and perspectives with each playing a key role in understanding religious behavior and its function. The five existential domains of behaviors, an understanding of how death and sapience and the three primary epiphenomena are also delved into throughout the book.

This is a unique book through its approach to religion via the lens of behavior with evidence provided dating to early history and explored through various cultures. Fil Munas dives into religion through an explanation of the basic understanding of behavior through a psychological, historical, and scientific perspective. Biology of Religion opens with a look at behavior itself that explains the domains of behavior - including feeding, reproduction, economics, and politics. The rest of the book focuses on providing an understanding of religion as a natural part of our behavior and how it has shaped society throughout history. Part of understanding behavior is to understand the biology of it which includes natural selection, paleolithic humans, and sapience. The writing is thorough, well-researched, easy to understand, and thought-provoking. Munas will open your mind to new ideas about religion while making you think differently about behavior and sparking discussions. Patriarchy, war, and altruism are explored as three primary epiphenomena linked to behavior and religion.

The functions of religion explored, as are morality, family, law, and government. Each of these concepts is an important aspect of understanding religious behavior with each giving a thorough account of various religions around the world and throughout history. This includes Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Taoism, Shintoism, and Zoroastrianism, among others. Those interested in learning more about religion and behavior will enjoy this thought-provoking read. Biology of Religion explores concepts that include death and natural selection, epiphenomena, and the functions of religion.

You can learn more about Fil Munas and "Biology of Religion" at https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/biology-of-religion where you can read reviews and the author's biography, as well as connect with the author directly or through their website and social media pages.

Media Contact Company Name: Readers' Favorite LLC Contact Person: Media Relations Email: Send Email Phone: 800-RF-REVIEW City: Louisville State: KY 40202 Country: United States Website: https://readersfavorite.com

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Author's new book Biology of Religion receives a warm literary welcome - MENAFN.COM

Human Behavior

This Is Horrible: Daybreak Reveals Heartbreaking Scenes in Long Beach – NBC Southern California

June 1, 2020 medical

Looters and vandals who rampaged through Long Beach Sunday left behind a painful sight for community members who arrived in the downtown area at daybreak to see the destruction and clean up.

A property manager at one of the hardest hit locations expressed his sorrow for the business owners, may of whom were already struggling to recover due to the coronavirus pandemic. He said it looked like a bomb went off on the stretch of Fifth Street near Long Beach Boulevard, the result of people who took advantage of what should have been a peaceful protest.

I saw it all unfold last night, but being here, seeing it in person, this is horrible.

I saw it all unfold last night, but being here, seeing it in person, this is horrible, said the property manager, who identified himself as Marc, as he fought back tears. You have a mom-and-pop shop just struggling to stay afloat. Theyve been closed for two months. Now, all their windows are broke. This is devastating for businesses.

Im just lost.

The day began with a peaceful protest over the death of Minneapolis resident George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who pleaded for air as a white police officer pressed his knee against his neck for several minutes. Thousands of people in Long Beach participated in the march, which was marred by widespread looting Sunday in the downtown area and other commercial areas around the city, prompting the mayor to request National Guard troops to help restore peace.

Guard members with trash bags helped business owners with brooms and others pick up debris early Monday. At least one was seen comforting Mark, placing a hand on his shoulder as they talked.

L.P. Simmons was shaking his head in frustration as he looked at what looters did to his community. He called it a disgusting exhibition of human behavior.

"These guys who were out here, they weren't trying to send a message about Mr. Floyd," Simmons said. "It was groups of people, five to 20, in groups of cars. One guy had a pipe wrench.

"This is, 'No peace, no justice, but since it's going on, I'm not only going to get even, I'm going to get ahead.'"

A Long Beach resident arrived at daybreak to see what looters and vandals had done to his community. Toni Guinyard reports for Today in LA on Monday June 1, 2020.

Later Monday morning, community members with trash bags and brooms arrived to clean up.

Before the violence, several thousand people took part in a protest that started at 3 p.m. at Long Beach Police Headquarter. They marched along Ocean Boulevard and back to downtown, according to police and media accounts.

Looters began their assault around 5 p.m., hitting several businesses in The Pike Outlets including T-Mobile and Luxury Perfume. They also stole from the Jean Machine in the City Place Shopping Center, Mark Schneider Fine Jewelry in the Promenade, a Ross store and several businesses along Long Beach Boulevard including El Super and a CVS.

A business that appeared to have been looted earlier in the day was on fire at 10 p.m. Eliana Moreno reports for the NBC4 News on Sunday May 31, 2020.

They could be seen making multiple trips inside stores to carry out armfuls of merchandise which they loaded into awaiting vehicles, taking selfies and smiling for television cameras.

Heartbreaking, was the way Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna described the turn of events. We planned for a large group of protesters to express their anger in a positive way, he said. That meant bringing in hundreds of officers -- four to five times the usual Sunday staff -- who were quickly overwhelmed because once officers gained control of an area they could not give it up and looters moved on.

As seen on NBC4 News on Sunday, May 31, 2020.

We knew we were going to get agitators but we didn't expect this number, Luna said. Mutual aid arrived in the form of officers from departments around the area and sheriff's deputies. As of 9 p.m., the National Guard troops were on the way, officials said.

We will bring peace back to Long Beach, Luna said. I promise you that. To looters he said: We're going to come after you and we're going to put you in jail.

Luna expected the number of arrests to increase as the growing law enforcement presence enforced the countywide curfew.

Many of the looters are believed to have come to Long Beach from other areas.

Looters also attempted to hit stores in nearby Lakewood. An alert sent out by Lakewood city officials said: Sheriffs made arrests quickly for commercial looting in Lakewood and are handling the issue. Please stay home, and Lakewood's Sheriff personnel are fully deployed. Lakewood's primary and reserve Sky Knight helicopters are up and watching the city.

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This Is Horrible: Daybreak Reveals Heartbreaking Scenes in Long Beach - NBC Southern California

Human Behavior

Summer Camp delivered to your front door – wyomingnewsnow.tv

June 1, 2020 medical

LARAMIE, Wyo - With certain outdoor recreation activities tentatively set to resume this summer, there still remains a significant amount of uncertainty as to what will be available or safe to do, especially for young children.

The University of Wyomings Division of Social Work is partnering with the UW Division of Kinesiology and Health, the UW Office of Engagement and Outreach, and the Rocky Mountain Power Foundation to provide youngsters the experience of going to a summer camp, while having that experience delivered right to their front door.

Kym Codallos, an associate lecturer with the Division of Social Work, along with students from the divisions of Social Work and Kinesiology and Health, collaborated to create summer camp kits that can be mailed directly to youngsters upon request.

Each camp kit includes age-appropriate content for the recipient and lays out activities specific to developmental needs. Contents include a sports backpack, camp T-shirt, water bottle, sports and fitness gear, and an age/grade-level activity book.

Camp activities begin the first week of June and run through the end of July.

The cost of receiving a summer camp kit is $30. To request a kit, or for more camp information, call Codallos at (307) 766-5490 or email kcodallo@uwyo.edu.

We have all experienced a lot of changes and losses over the last several months, Codallos says. The activities within the summer camp kits will help young people process the various losses that they have encountered throughout this tumultuous year, while also enhancing their coping skills and abilities through fun activities in the comfort and safety of their homes.

Camp participants will meet with a virtual camp counselor each week, using a Zoom meeting format. Virtual counselors are student volunteers from the UW College of Health Sciences.

Student counselors will not only provide support in planning for upcoming camp activities, but also will serve as someone to talk with and be available to discuss topics related to stress that youngsters might be experiencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Counselors will interact with campers each Friday during the summer camp term, with additional contact times upon request.

This is my first time being a camp counselor specifically, says Alexa Becerra, a senior from Cheyenne in the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program. But, I have experience being a student mentor for the Wyoming Latina Youth Conference and co-leading a few groups -- for example, at the Laramie jail and a group for the Survivors of Suicide Loss Day.

Given the uncertainty of the times, student counselors will not have scripted dialogue to follow.

Our interactions with camp-goers will be freer flowing, as, unfortunately, our plans have changed with COVID-19, notes Becerra. There will not be face-to-face interaction. We will be available, though, for parents or children with questions or just to meet with one of the camp counselors to talk.

With the outdoor activities of summer completely altered, it is understandable that young people may not know exactly how to feel, or express their emotions to others, she adds.

One of the main benefits, I hope, for those attending the camp is to receive a better understanding of their emotional feelings and needs when it comes to experiencing loss or grief, Becerra says. Along with this is to find strategies or things that will help them cope with these feelings in a healthy manner.

Julia Cathey, also a senior in the BSW program from Gillette, hopes to apply what she has learned through her social work education to better understand how to help young campers work through times of uncertainty.

My experience really comes from being a social work student, Cathey says. We take a lot of time studying human behavior and understanding where people come from.

She adds that camp counselors are compiling plenty of great information, activities and conversation starters for participants.

I personally hope that the kids receiving these packets feel more comfortable talking about grief. Having them express their emotions is very important, Cathey says. Grief has a way of making people shut down and go into themselves. Hopefully, these activities will help the kids to come back to life a little more and to be able to have healthy conversations.

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Summer Camp delivered to your front door - wyomingnewsnow.tv

Human Behavior

Can a robot be the boss? EJINSIGHT – EJ Insight

June 1, 2020 medical

Computers in Human Behavior, an academic journal on human-computer interaction, published an interesting article titled "When computers take the lead: The automation of leadership. It describes how computers today have taken over work traditionally handled by human boss, such as scheduling duty and dispatching tasks.

Almost 20 years ago, some scholars started to discuss the possibility of human-computer collaboration. At that time, computers were only considered as support to the human team. But this has been changed. Dan Brown, the author of the renowned novel The Da Vinci Code, has created a perfect and loyal artificial intelligence (AI) employee, Winston, in his 2017 work Origin. Winston is both knowledgeable and considerate, he is able to start the execution mode on his own at the critical moment.

Actually, Browns fantasy has come true with the rapid development of AI in recent years. Computers have even become the boss in some industries, the most obvious example is taxi hailing service. In the past, we called the service center for a taxi, then the staff of the centre contacted taxi drivers to find the most available taxi and to assign the order. Today, there are many mobile applications in Hong Kong for hailing taxi, replacing the role of service center, which is retained only for alerting drivers on the latest traffic conditions.

American taxi hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft have even fully automated assigning cars to individual customer without any manpower. In the past, the states opposed to these new services that threatened the traditional taxi industry, but in recent years, they have set up regulations for the operations as these new services are an irreversible trend. Computer also handles the scheduling of duty in hospitals, and delivery of food.

Is it good for the computer to be the boss?

It is said that allocating manpower by computers is fairer. However, the problem is that computer only regards each employee as a replaceable unit, machine cannot be compassionate or accommodate the situation of individual employee, such as when parents need to take care of young children. Computer is also less likely to invest in employee training like the traditional company to add value to individuals.

At the same time, John Kotter, a business school professor at Harvard University, who has studied leadership for a long time, pointed out that people used to call the manager of a business and the leader of an organization as boss. In fact, the two have very different roles.

The manager is responsible for operation, his/her main task is to implement a series of established procedures, such as budgeting, staffing, reviewing employee performance, and solving problems. The implementation of these already established areas of work, especially in large organizations, can be quite challenging. However, no matter how difficult the task can be, this cannot be considered as the role of a leader.

What is a leader? A leader has visions, dares to lead the team to change, so as to bring the organization to a new milestone, rather than just following the established successful formulas.

Therefore, at present, computer can only be an efficient supervisor despite extremely accurate performance. We still need human beings as leaders to plan and clearly understand the opportunities, leading us to overcome difficulties and find a better future in the world full of unknowns.

-- Contact us at [emailprotected]

Adjunct Professor, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong

Human Behavior

Alphabet, Amazon, Broadcom, Gap and Campbell Soup are part of Zacks Earnings Preview – Yahoo Finance

June 1, 2020 medical

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL June 1, 2020 Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This weeks list includes Alphabet GOOGL, Amazon AMZN, Broadcom AVGO, Gap GPS and Campbell Soup CPB.

3 Reasons Why the Coronavirus Economic Recovery Will Be Quick

There is no question that the Covid-19 pandemic has pushed the U.S. economy into a severe downturn, ending the longest economic expansion in the nations history. All indicators suggest that this recession will be unlike any we have experienced in the past, with a sharp downturn in economic activities and employment, followed by a reasonably quick recovery.

There are three reasons why I am confident that the U.S. economy will quickly bounce back.

First, the U.S. economy entered this downturn in a very good shape, with consumer and business confidence and employment levels at or near record levels. The expansion preceding the downturn had been the longest in the nations history, but there were visible and obvious imbalances or dislocations that are typically associated with the later stages of economic expansion.

For example, the last two economic recessions followed big bubbles in the housing and Technology sectors. The banking sector that got hit hard in the last recession because of housing exposure remains in excellent shape, with plenty of capital cushion to absorb the cyclical losses that typically incur during downturns (loan-loss reserves).

The Technology sector has emerged as the crown jewel of the U.S. economy, distinguishing the country from all other developed economies. In fact, many of the U.S.- based Technology firms like Alphabet, Amazon, and many others have been critical to keeping all of us engaged and functional in these pandemic-driven shelter-in-place policies.

Second, this is no normal recession that arrived as a result of imbalances in the economy or Fed action. External shocks can cause normal recessions as well, like the one the western world experienced after the oil shock of the early 1970s or results from wars or other armed conflicts.

The Covid-19 pandemic is an external shock that is unique and without precedent, the last such calamity hit us literally a century ago.

The engineered economic shutdown pushed the economy into a recession, but it was a necessary act to slow the spread of the virus and reset human behavior. With most states at different stages of reopening their economies, we can expect economic activity to steadily start resuming. In this outlook, June will be better than May, with May better than April, which was most likely the downturns bottom.

The shelter-in-place pause of the last two months has trained us how to navigate this virus-infested environment as normal economic and human activities resume in the days ahead, even though a cure or vaccine is still some ways off. The pause has undoubtedly been painful, but the generous policy response has more than made up for it.

Third, the policy response has been unprecedented, both in terms of size as well as reach. Actions by the U.S. Congress, the Treasury, and the Fed has ensured that short-term liquidity problems dont become systemic solvency issues that will hobble the economy for a long time.

Congress may need to do more in the coming weeks and months, but the U.S. authorities whatever-it-takes attitude has provided the necessary bridge to the other side of this pandemic.

Full normalcy will only resume after we have a vaccine or cure, absent which economic activity in the leisure, hospitality and transportation areas will remain constrained. As such, I am not projecting the U.S. economy and labor market getting back to pre-Covid levels this year. That said, the worst of the Covid-driven economic pain is already behind us, with things steadily improving in the days ahead.

Growth is expected to resume next year, with full-year 2021 earnings for the S&P 500 index currently expected to be up +26.5% relative to the still-declining 2020 estimates. But as strong as next years growth estimate is, total index earnings would still havent gotten back to pre-Covid levels.

In other words, S&P 500 earnings in 20201 are currently expected to be modestly below the 2019 level.

These numbers translate to an index EPS of $155.54 in 2021 vs. $122.93 in 2020 and $160.96 in 2019.

Story continues

Q1 Earnings Season Scorecard

The Q1 earnings season has effectively come to an end, with results from 490 S&P 500 members already out. Total earnings for these companies are down -13.3% from the same period last year on +1.3% higher revenues, with 66.3% beating EPS and 57.6% beating revenue estimates.

We have another 5 S&P 500 members on deck to report results this week. This weeks docket includes results from chipmaker Broadcom, Gap, Campbell Soup and others.

The comparison charts below put the results from these 490 index members in a historical context. The first set of two charts compare the earnings and revenue growth rates for these companies.

The second set compares the proportion of these companies beating EPS and revenue estimates.

The earnings growth comparisons start looking a lot better when seen on an ex-Finance basis.

For an in-depth look at the overall earnings picture and expectations for the coming quarters, please check out our weekly Earnings Trends report>>>> Covid-19 & Corporate Earnings

The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of All

Last year, it generated $24 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $77.6 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce "the world's first trillionaires," but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.

See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>

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Click to get this free report Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report The Gap, Inc. (GPS) : Free Stock Analysis Report Campbell Soup Company (CPB) : Free Stock Analysis Report Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) : Free Stock Analysis Report Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Human Behavior

Michelle Dockery (Defending Jacob) as a mother of teen son accused of murder: I thought this is going to be a tough challenge and I do love a…

June 1, 2020 medical

Michelle Dockery, a four-time lead actress Emmy nominee for her performance as Lady Mary Crawley on PBS Downton Abbey and for the Netflix Western miniseries Godless, takes on a role that might be called a mothers worst nightmare on the crime miniseries Defending Jacob. The Apple TV+ program is based on the best-selling book by William Landay about a married couple whose 14-year-old son is charged with a stabbing death of a classmate who was bullying him.

The British actress says, For some reason for the last few years Ive been playing Americans much more. I enjoy it. I enjoy doing the accent. As she started to read the first three or four episode Defending Jacob scripts, she was hooked. She says, I thought this is going to be a tough challenge. And I do like a challenge. I was so enthralled by the journey of the family and what theyre all going through as a result of this tragedy.

In a scene where her wife and mother Laurie, who is wed to Andy Barber (Chris Evans), an assistant district attorney in Newton, Massachusetts, starts to doubt her sons innocence at a meeting with a psychiatrist while her husband becomes more convinced Jacob didnt do it, I thought all of this is getting really juicy now.

She believes that the show really touches on universal emotions of family and parents and children. I think that all parents out there will relate on some level. Theyll see traces of their hopes and anxieties in Andy and Laurie. I thought that was really interesting. I think were fascinated by human behavior, arent we? How well do you know your family? And how far would you go to protect them?

By the end of the series, Laurie is truly put through the wringer emotionally and physically as she suddenly learns that Andys father (J.K. Simmons) is serving a long prison sentence after killing and raping a woman when her husband was just a boy. The notion of a murder gene comes into play as it might exist in Jacob (Jaeden Martell). Dockery also had to jog in 100-degree heat as her character thinks she is being chased down by a strange man in a car and endures an devastating encounter in a grocery store.

SEEDefending Jacob showrunner Mark Bomback reveals origins of Chris Evans show [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO INTERVIEW]

There are few light moments in Defending Jacob, but there were some pleasures to be had for Dockery, especially the beautiful interior of the Barber family home with a spacious kitchen, a massive island, two sinks and tasteful decor. Laurie is an art major and obviously has great taste and there was great artwork around the house. When filming wrapped, I asked for a few of the prints, which I have in my home now.

Dockery goes on to speak about how well the citizens of Newton treated the cast and crew, how she enjoyed spending time in the Boston area since her father is Irish and if there will be a second big-screen Downton Abbey movie after the first gathered almost $200 million worldwide at the box office.

Be sure to make your Emmy nominations predictions today so that Hollywood insiders can see how their shows and performers are faring in our odds. You can keep changing your predictions as often as you like until just before the nominees are announced on July 28. And join in the thrilling debate over the 2020 Emmy Awards taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our TV forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.

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Michelle Dockery (Defending Jacob) as a mother of teen son accused of murder: I thought this is going to be a tough challenge and I do love a...

Human Behavior

Long after the illness is gone, the damage from coronavirus may remain – San Francisco Chronicle

June 1, 2020 medical

The roulette wheel of infection that determines which COVID-19 patients live and die has gripped the world in fear, but researchers are looking into another insidious danger that the disease could be inflicting lasting, even permanent, damage on its victims.

Infectious disease specialists have learned that the health problems caused by the coronavirus sometimes linger for months, raising fears that the virus may have long-term consequences for peoples health.

Theres no doubt there has been anecdotal evidence of symptoms lingering for a while, but we dont know if its 1%, 5%, 20% or 50% of the cases, said Jeffrey Martin, a clinical epidemiologist and professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at UCSF. We need to find out how common that is. Its important that we separate the rare anecdotes from the true frequency.

Cases of chronic fatigue, heart problems, lung damage, blood clotting and neurological symptoms like dizziness and confusion have been documented in numerous patients long after the initial symptoms of COVID-19 have gone away.

The discovery of chronic symptoms could have a significant impact on human behavior as divisions erupt around the country over the speed with which businesses, parks, movie theaters and other gathering spots reopen. Boozy beach parties and concerts may not have the same lure for the young and healthy if the bacchanalia includes the prospect of prolonged disease and long-term disability.

It is what happened to Cliff Morrison, 68, of Oakland, who is still suffering from mood swings, headaches, blurry vision, aching joints and other strange symptoms nobody warned him about nearly two months after he first fell ill with COVID-19.

I still have shortness of breath and some of the cough and no energy or strength, said Morrison, a nurse and health care administrator, who contracted the disease through his work. My vision has improved but its still a little blurry. No one told me that it would go on as long as it has.

Morrison, who worked as an AIDS coordinator in the 1980s, is one of 50 patients infected by COVID-19 who are enrolled in a study that Dr. Martin and a team of researchers at UCSF and San Francisco General Hospital are conducting. The investigation, called the Long-term Impact of Infection with Novel Coronavirus, or Liinc, is to determine what symptoms linger and how long the health problems last.

The study subjects, all of whom have been fever-free and tested negative for at least three weeks, were chosen because they had a wide spectrum of symptoms, from mild to severe.

Morrison, who lives alone, said he was very sick, unable to get out of bed except to go to the bathroom for three weeks. Besides being short of breath and feverish, his symptoms included vision problems, confusion and memory problems he said there is a 10-day stretch when he can barely remember anything.

He suffered from unusually intense mood swings, ranging from deep depression to extreme anger. At one point he developed a rash over the lower half of his body that turned into sores, like the chicken pox, lasting two weeks.

Breathing issues, fatigue, lung damage, heart problems, blood clots, dizziness, confusion, memory loss, coughing, fever, headaches, loss of sense of smell, mood swings, blurry vision and aching joints.

In a small percentage of children who had a coronavirus infection, a condition called pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome surfaces weeks after exposure to the virus, causing rashes, fevers and heart inflammation and, in a few cases, death.

Martin said the plan is to interview, take blood and saliva samples, and chart lingering health problems in study subjects for up to two years. It is important, he said, because the disease has not been around long enough to determine whether the lingering symptoms represent an abnormally long recovery process or a long-term problem.

It appears from the early evidence that Morrisons case is not unusual. Many recovering coronavirus patients have reported residual problems months after the initial infection, far longer than the experts thought was possible. The World Health Organization says patients with mild cases of COVID-19 should expect a two-week recovery process while severe infections could last up to six weeks before they clear up.

The evidence of more chronic problems is preliminary, but it is mounting.

Studies in China have found that most COVID-19 patients well over 70% showed lesions or patches of irritation in the lungs known as ground glass opacities that could develop into permanent scars, or pulmonary fibrosis.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the illness is known to target ACE2 receptors, a protein on the surface of human cells that the spiky virus attaches to. Many of the receptors are in the heart muscle. Various studies indicate cardiovascular damage is common, with one study finding it in 12% of patients studied and another showing heart damage in 19% of the patients.

High rates of blood clots have been reported in China and France. Studies in the two countries found that between 5% and 30% of the hospitalized patients suffered strokes, blockages of arteries or pulmonary embolisms, which are obstructions in the lungs.

Tony-nominated Canadian actor Nick Cordero had his right leg amputated after numerous COVID-related blood clots. The Broadway actor has now been in the hospital for about two months, much of that time on a ventilator.

Others have suffered strokes and heart attacks after being declared disease free and discharged from hospitals. The clots, which are likely caused by immune system responses to the infection, can also cause long-term problems, including heart palpitations and severe shortness of breath.

The virus also appears to attack the central nervous system, causing delirium and hallucinations in about a third of the patients in intensive care units. Morrison never had to go to the hospital, but he nevertheless suffered cognitive issues, which have mostly cleared up.

But many of the long-term problems may be a direct result of the severity of the infection. For instance, most critical patients end up suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome, or ARDS, which is characterized by fluid in the lungs. Previous studies have shown that as many as 20% of ARDS survivors experience long-term cognitive impairment, including concentration and memory lapses, epidemiologists say.

Timothy Henrich, an associate professor of medicine and Martins colleague at UCSF, said lingering problems can be expected in severe cases involving organ dysfunction, clotting and ARDS, but some people with mild cases of COVID-19 have also reported post-infection problems.

Its not clear whether this is only in the severe cases, said Henrich, an infectious disease clinician, virologist and immunologist. This may be happening in a more sub-acute fashion as well, but it needs to be studied.

Recovering COVID-19 victims, including some of Martin and Henrichs colleagues, have reported feeling foggy and having trouble focusing on work. Others say their coughs, fevers and breathing issues have cycled on and off for a month after the initial symptoms.

People have reported coughing up blood, losing their sense of smell, migraine-like headaches and short-term memory loss long after being cleared by doctors to go back to their normal routines.

Matt Willis, Marin Countys public health officer, said he is still tired, weak, short of breath and has lingering circulation problems two months after his initial diagnosis.

I feel like my lungs have been traumatized by this, said Willis, who is not part of the UCSF study. Im still close enough to the illness that Im attributing some of these symptoms to post-viral inflammation.

But Henrich said some of these problems continue even after PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, tests no longer detect the virus, indicating an overzealous reaction by the human immune system.

We are seeing immune activation even after the PCR tests are negative, suggesting that the body has cleared the initial virus, but the immune response is ongoing for quite some time, he said. What we are interested in learning is: How long does this inflammation last, is there an ongoing immune activation?

Infectious disease specialists believe that many of the more severe symptoms, including ARDS, are being caused by overly robust immune responses to the infection.

The human immune response may also be responsible for an inflammatory reaction similar to Kawasaki disease that has recently been affecting children exposed to the coronavirus, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warning. Experts say the ailment, known as pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome, can cause rashes, fevers and heart inflammation more than a month after exposure to the virus.

Doctors at UCSFs Benioff Childrens Hospital have recently seen dozens of children with reddish-purple lesions on the feet and hands known as acral perniosis. The rashes all appeared weeks or months after exposure to adult relatives with flu-like symptoms, leading researchers to believe it is an after-the-fact inflammatory reaction to COVID-19.

Martin said the study at San Francisco General Hospital will test patients for antibodies and try to figure out what is going on with their immune responses. Researchers will also try to determine whether the 30 patients in the study have developed immunity and how long that immunity prevents them from being reinfected.

Morrison said the lingering fatigue, shortness of breath and blurred vision are concerns, but he is happy the phenomenon is being studied.

Were only four months into this pandemic, he said, and there is still so much that we dont know.

Peter Fimrite is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: pfimrite@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @pfimrite