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Pscy* (for Psychic, Psychological, etc.)
What could be better on Halloween than a story about the master of the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe? While trolling for lesser-known facts about the author, I came across something appropriately eerie that might even be new to many of you. In 1862, psychic medium Lizzie Doten published her book Poems from the Inner Life. In it, she claimed some of the works originated from "conscious communion with disembodied spirits" of famous writers who had shuffled off this mortal coil. (Indeed, Shakespeare was one of them.) Six of the poems are purported to come from Poe himself. About her experience with the spirit of Poe, Doten had this to say:
The influence of Poe was neither pleasant nor easy. I can only describe it as a species of mental intoxication. I was tortured with a feeling of great restlessness and irritability, and strange, incongruous images crowded my brain. Some were as bewildering and dazzling as the sun, others dark and repulsive. Under his influence, particularly, I suffered the greatest exhaustion of vital energy, so much so, that after giving one of his poems, I was usually quite ill for several days.
But from his first poem to the last … was a marked, and rapid change. It would seem as though, in that higher life, where the opportunities for spiritual development far transcend those of earth, that by his quick and active perceptions he had seized upon the Divine Idea which was endeavoring to find expression through his life, both in Time and Eternity; and that from the moment this became apparent, with a volcanic energy, with the battle-strokes of a true hero, he had over-thrown every obstacle, and hewn a way through every barrier that impeded the free out-growth and manifestation of his diviner self…. As he last appeared to me, he was full of majesty and strength, self-poised and calm, and it would seem by the expression of his countenance, radiant with victory, that the reward promised to 'him that over-cometh,' had been made his sure possession…. Upon earth he was a meteor light, flashing with a startling brilliancy across the intellectual firmament; but now he is a star of ever increasing magnitude, which has at length gravitated to its own place among the celestial spheres.
As Ripley's would have it, "Believe It or Not!" But there's no doubt that Pscy* is a typo of high probability. There are 61 English-language instances of it in OhioLINK and 502 in WorldCat.
(Daguerreotype of Edgar Allan Poe, 1849, from Wikimedia Commons)
Postii* (for Positive, Position)
I will confess to being something of a cynic. But do even those of you with the most positive outlooks on life find that motivational posters make you want to vomit? You know the ones--beautiful or (dare I say it?) inspiring pictures that are ruined with saccharine captions like "Teamwork: When all work together, we all win together" and "Goals: The difference between try and triumph is a little umph."
Enough people do find them laughable that there whole lines of spin-off posters devoted to lampooning them. Heck, I can get behind that same artwork if it's accompanied by "Attitudes are contagious. Mine might kill you" or "Meetings: None of us is as dumb as all of us."
So have I disillusioned you too much, or might I yet motivate you to stamp out the typo Postii* in your library catalog? There are 10 such English-language errors in the OhioLINK database and 70 in WorldCat.
(Model of a saccharin molecule, from Wikimedia Commons)
Posted by librarytypos at 3:08 PM No comments:
Cocao (for Cocoa, Cacao, etc.)
"Cup of cocoa could give the elderly the memory of a 'typical 30 or 40-year-old'." So reads the latest headline (this one from The Independent) about the benefits of chocolate, or more specifically, of the antioxidant flavanols found in cocoa beans.
Next come the usual disclaimers about the small size of the study being described and how more research needs to be done before scientists can truly interpret the results. But the most disappointing is the sort of statement that inevitably follows: "However, experts said the study did not mean people should eat more chocolate". I'm so waiting for someone, somewhere, to finally say, yes, eat all the chocolate you want! Never mind all those calories and fat, the benefits far outweigh them!
And now we've wandered into fantasy land. Perhaps it would be best if we just stuck with cleaning up the error Cocao in our catalogs. There are 77 instances in WorldCat and 1 in OhioLINK. Hint: it's a typo in several languages other than English, although you'll have to evaluate each one carefully. And then, by all means, reward yourself with (a sensible amount of) chocolate.
(Cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream and cocoa powder, from Wikimedia Commons)
Posted by librarytypos at 10:35 AM No comments:
Eveden* (for Eviden*)
On another crime show the other night (I seem to watch a lot of these), the original suspect told a 911 operator that she had observed blood on her murdered friend's "headboard." This word somehow got transcribed as "forehead," however, and became a major part of the state's case against her. The investigator argued that the witness couldn't possibly have seen the victim's forehead since the body had been completely wrapped in trash bags and blankets. It's hard to know whether he made that error by mistake or on purpose, but if the latter, it was evidently an ingenious, if thoroughly corrupt, move, allowing for a certain plausible deniability. (Oops, typo!) In any case, it underscores the often critical importance of proofreading one's records; it can actually be a matter of life and death. We uncovered evidence of Eveden* twice in OhioLINK, and 57 times in WorldCat.
(Antique oak sleigh bed with high headboard, from Wikimedia Commons.)
Oinion* (for Opinion* or Onion*)
With regard to some murder mystery or other recently, a commentator commented: "This is an onion that continues to unpeel." Which sounds laughably wrong at first, until you consider the alternative: "This is an onion that continues to be peeled" is arguably even worse. And not to make you hypercorrect grammar nazis cry, but it appears in fact that unpeel may actually be acceptable. (The adjective unpeeled is not in dispute.) It's sort of like ravel/unravel, flammable/inflammable, thaw/unthaw—words that look like total opposites, but in fact mean pretty much the same thing. There was another mystery of sorts in my garden this past summer, in which some plants that looked a little like forgotten garlic, unharvested from the year before, started to turn up as I turned over the soil. I thought perhaps they were stunted garlics with tiny bulbs (which I now know as "field garlic"), though a fellow grower was of the opinion that they were probably wild onions. They're very tasty, but rather hard to peel. I only wish they could "unpeel" themselves! We uncovered just one Oinion* in OhioLINK today, along with 14 in WorldCat.
(Mixed onions, 15 June 2013, from Wikimedia Commons.)
Haitain* (for Haitian*)
The other night on a TV crime show, the victim was said to have "baby doe eyes." This struck me as another one of those conflated idioms I've written about here before: doe-eyed, baby doll, baby blues, etc. The usage was a bit disconcerting at first, but you got the general idea and in a small way it actually made the sad story just that much more poignant. Speaking of murderers, Jean-Claude ("Baby Doc") Duvalier, the longtime Haitian dictator, passed away earlier this month as well. He succeeded his father, François ("Papa Doc") Duvalier, at age 19, making him the youngest president in the world. He ruled Haiti from 1971 till 1986 when his reign was finally overthrown. After creating a vicious state militia, trafficking in illegal drugs, and selling the body parts of his countrymen in order to support his lavish lifestyle, Baby Doc was accused of the "zombification" of Haiti. Duvalier returned from France in 2011, after a nearly 20-year self-imposed time-out for bad behavior, whereupon he was promptly spanked with charges of embezzlement, abuse of power, and corruption. (The statute of limitations had run out on his most horrific crimes against humanity.) There were a lot of people still hatin' on this Haitian in 2014, though there were only two cases of today's typo in OhioLINK, and 21 in WorldCat.
(Photograph showing the now-deceased Jean-Claude Duvalier and his then wife, Michele, fleeing Haiti, from Wikimedia Commons.)
Thansk* (for Thanks*)
I'm late on my blogging this week due to having stuffed myself into a sleepy haze on Monday – Canada's Thanksgiving Day.
This got me wondering about the history of Thanksgiving in Canada, and I stumbled across a little document on the Canadian Heritage website.
It turns out, Thanksgiving first occurred here in 1799—before we were even officially a country. There was no set date until 1957, when a proclamation determined it would be the second Monday in October.
What really tickled me, however, was seeing the reasons proclaimed for holding Thanksgiving, which were often thanks for an abundant harvest, but sometimes differed from year to year. On Wednesday, 6 Feb. 1833, it was held for "Cessation of cholera," and on Monday, 15 April 1872, "For restoration to health of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales."
And then there's Thursday, 21 Apr. 1814, when Thanksgiving was held "For glorious victories over our enemies." Looks like we didn't always live up to the stereotype of friendly, polite, meek Canadians.
Leanne Olson
(Wild turkey photo by Gary M. Stoltz, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
Bibliogrp* (for Bibliograp*)
While trying to stay awake during a BIBFRAME webinar recently, my flagging attention was caught by a typo that appeared a couple of times on the monitor: Bibliogrpahic. Some typos are rather fun to sound out, and as I silently rolled this one around on my tongue, I was unaccountably put in mind of the state of New Jersey. It took a few moments, but I soon figured out why: the last part of it sounds a bit like Passaic. And just south of Passaic is Newark, the largest city in the Garden State. (Which demographical distinction further calls to mind the wonderful sister act known as The Roches, who would often trill, "We come from deepest New Jersey..." and who once recorded a song that began: "Didn't you ever feel like the largest Elizabeth in the world?") Wilberforce Eames, a truly formidable force of nature, was born in Newark, New Jersey, on October 12, 1855, and later moved to Brooklyn with his family. Former New York Public Library director Harry Miller Lydenberg, as part of a memorial tribute delivered at the 1956 meeting of the American Antiquarian Society, tells the amazing story of this life-long book collector, bookseller, librarian, and bibliographer, one that I can merely hint at here with the following quote: "Books, books, books, there was no end, bought from auction catalogues, from dealers' lists, wherever they were seen, from home and from the ends of the earth. Fred Morris, that faithful agent and loyal soul, came to me more than once, genuinely distressed because he felt that Eames was buying beyond his means and he felt that 'something must be done.' Equally sympathetic, equally fond of our friend, we could but say finally that the man was prudent enough in other ways, and with such matters we could feel that as he had proven able to meet his other responsibilities with credit, here we could do nothing more than wish him well..." Let us all wish Wilberforce well this weekend, with gratitude for his contributions to all things bibliographic. (Note: I've truncated the original typo for better access; there were 47 in OhioLINK and "too many records found for your search" in WorldCat.)
(Wilberforce Eames, painted for the Society by Mr. DeWitt M. Lockman, 1931, from Wikimedia Commons.)
French + Franch (for French, etc.)
Shhhh. Librarians are famous for saying it. Along with its onomatopoetic cousins Hush and Shush, as well as the similarly sibilant Shut up (or Shutty, Shut your mouth, Shut your face, etc.), it means "Be quiet" or "Keep still." (Generally, those variants that include the word shut are not always considered the nicest ones, but they certainly have their place. I even thought of a new one: Shutten your lip. Feel free to use it!) Every language has its ways of conveying this command and an understanding of those ways could prove useful while traveling abroad. Romance languages employ a sound that's rather akin to Shh: in Spanish it's chis or chito; in French it's chut; in Italian it's sst or zitto. German and Dutch librarians hiss Pst! or Sch! at unruly patrons who fail to observe the peace and quiet. I seem to recall hearing Ferme la bouche used in French class, but have since learned that that's incorrect and is rarely said by the natives. The polite form, it appears, is Tais-toi, whereas Ferme ta gueule is downright gauche. A commenter on Wordreference writes: "It's a kid's way of telling someone to shut up." Another one says: "Sometimes you will hear Ferme la bouche! for Ferme ta gueule! from people who try not to use rude words." Often (and perhaps it's to obscure le différence?) the phrase gets shortened to Ferme-la. So when visiting France, before you open your mouth to ask where the library is ("Où est la bibliothèque?" being one of the few other phrases en français I can remember from school), make sure you know the proper way to request that your fellow bibliophiles please keep it down. Given that we have already blogged here about silence, our typo for the day is French + Franch (for, in most cases, French). We found 21 of these in OhioLINK, and 392 in WorldCat.
(An Asian woman wearing headphones and putting a finger over her lips, 19 January 2008, from Wikimedia Commons.)
Amercan* (for American*)
Librarianship is often remarked upon, or even flat-out ribbed, over its vast array of acronyms, one of the first and foremost, of course, being "ALA." The American Library Association was founded in Philadelphia 138 years ago today by an impressive group of men, including Justin Winsor, Charles Ammi Cutter, Samuel S. Green, James L. Whitney, Fred B. Perkins, Charles Evans, Thomas W. Bicknell, and Melvil Dewey. Its first female president was Theresa West Elmendorf, who served in that role from 1911 to 1912 (she had also presided over NYLA in 1903 and 1904). ALA's second female president, Mary Wright Plummer, quickly followed in her footsteps and the position has been trending toward the distaff side ever since. Plummer was a young Indiana Quaker when she moved with her family to Chicago in 1873. She studied at Wellesley College and took the first library class taught by Mr. Dewey at Columbia University. In 1890, she began training new librarians at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, and created a library school there in 1895. She published Hints to Small Libraries and Training for Librarianship, along with a work of poetry called Verses; she also wrote several books for children, such as Stories from the Chronicle of the Cid. In addition to heading ALA in 1915–16, Plummer had also been the president of the New York Library Association, the New York Library Club, and the Long Island Library Club. She invented the idea of "library ethics," which she outlined in a speech to the Illinois Library Association called "The Pros and Cons of Librarianship." I was so curious what these might have been, and to compare them to our current gripes and glory, that I went and fetched a copy from my own library's basement stacks. She didn't use bullet points, but her point was eloquently made in twelve pages of single-spaced text. I was particularly struck by this relevant passage: "Let us take the case of a catalog card. It may be beautifully and legibly written or printed; it may have its words and sentences separated by the proper number of millimeters; its construction may be according to the A.L.A. rules or the Cutter rules or the Library school rules, and it may yet contain some blunder of ignorance that would make a librarian blush to find it in his catalog. And that kind of cataloging is what is going to tell against librarianship as a profession..." Upon her untimely death from cancer in 1916 (three years, I might note, before American women got the right to vote), in a memorial at the New York Public Library, Caroline Weeks Barrett recalled the time that Plummer had asked her, "Do you really believe in personal immortality?" When Barrett replied in the affirmative, Plummer continued, "What to you is the 'unanswerable argument' for such a belief?" And Barrett, who had just before that "been thinking of her tremendous vitality," told her simply: "You are." It was a touching tribute to a remarkable woman who would clearly live on in the hearts and minds of her grieving colleagues, and whose influence is still felt in the library profession today, especially the American Library Association. There were 22 examples of today's typo in OhioLINK, and 496 in WorldCat.
(Portrait of Mary Wright Plummer, from Wikimedia Commons.)
Executu* (for Executive)
The clever advertising executive who came up with the campaign "Behold, the power of cheese" (later "Ahh, the power of cheese") didn't know how right s/he was. According to the June, 2014 issue of National Geographic ("Cheese Fix," page 22):
There's a reason we love cheese. It contains tiny amounts of potentially addictive substances. Some of the feel-good chemicals come from casein, a milk protein that's concentrated during cheesemaking. Our digestion breaks down casein, creating morphine-like chemicals called casomorphins. But that's not all. Milk may also include traces of morphine itself, produced in the cow's liver.
Bring it on! Cheddar, Emmentaler, Gouda, Red Leicester, Monterey Jack, Gruyère, Manchego, Feta, Butterkäse, Mozzarella, Havarti, Dubliner, Edam, Brie, you name it. (Did I mention I adore cheese?)
Executu* is another low-probability typo. There are 6 entries for it in the OhioLINK catalog, and WorldCat advertises 76 English-language results.
(Swiss cheese cubes, from Wikimedia Commons)
Posted by librarytypos at 3:38 PM 1 comment:
Educaa* (for Educate, Education, etc.)


Taiwan's national airline, EVA Air, has ranked fifth in the World's Top 10 Airlines in the 2018 Skytrax World Airline Awards.
The airline also claimed the title for World's Best Airport Services and was certified as a Skytrax 5-Star airline for the third consecutive year. EVA Air also ranked second in Best Airline Staff in Asia, third in Best Airlines in Asia and fifth in the World's Best Airline Cabin Crew.
EVA Air's achievements were released on Tuesday following an analysis of extensive global passenger satisfaction surveys, described as "independent, impartial, and global", on 335 airlines that were conducted from August 2017 to May 2018.
Through a press statement, EVA Air president Clay Sun expressed his hope that EVA Air could continue to pursue its goal on the back of the achievement.
"It is a great honor to be recognized by travelers from around the globe. We will never lose sight of our goal for EVA to be the very best. We aim to make every journey with us a delightful, relaxing experience for every passenger," Sun said.
The rest of the top 10 was a familiar line up of respected airlines, dominated by Asian and Middle Eastern names. Third place went to ANA All Nippon Airways, fourth to Emirates, fifth to Taiwan's EVA Air and sixth to Cathay Pacific. Lufthansa was the only European carrier to make the top 10, in seventh place. It was followed by China's Hainan Airlines in eighth, Garuda Indonesia in ninth and Thai Airways in 10th.
US airlines failed to pick up a single award. The best airline in North America was named as Air Canada, and the region's best low-cost flier was WestJet, another Canadian carrier. Air France lived up to its nation's reputation for culinary excellence with awards for best first class onboard catering, best first class comfort amenities and best first class lounge dining.


Here is the list of some Java questions from interviews mainly from junior developers with 1, 2 or 3 years of experience. It is also good for advanced Java developers with 4 to 5 years of experience to prepare for their telephonic round. I am sure you have seen a lot of these questions already in your Java interviews but having a list is really handy, especially if you are looking for quick revision.
Can we prevent overriding a method without using the final modifier?
What is covariant method overriding?
Can we change the return type of method to subclass while overriding?
Can we change argument list of overriding method?
Can we override a method which throws runtime exception without throws clause?
How do you call superclass version of an overriding method in sub class?
What are rules of method overloading in Java?
Can we have a non-abstract method inside interface?
What is the default method of Java 8?
Can we make a class abstract without an abstract method?
Can we make a class final and abstract?
That's all in this list of Java Interview Questions and answers for Freshers and computer science graduates. These interview questions are also good to prepare for internship jobs, where only basic knowledge and fundamentals are tested. Remember, if you don't know the answer just says so, don't bluff and always listen to interviewer carefully because, on freshers interview, most of the interviewer likes to see if the candidate is willing to learn and listen or not.
P.S. - Today, you guys are lucky as there are a couple of good books you can use to prepare for your Java interviews e.g. Programming Interview exposed and Java Programming Interviews exposed, both are the excellent book for freshers and Java developers with 1 to 4 years of experience.
P.S. - For coding problems, you can also take help from Cracking the Coding Interview 6th edition book, which contains another 189+ problems and solutions.
These are good basic Java questions for freshers and junior developers and college graduates and if you are doing Java development for couple of years you can easily answer them without any preparation. Only question which I have not seen before was " Can we make a method volatile?" answer is No, because volatile can only be applied to member variables. You can not even make local variable volatile, why? because they are not shared between multiple threads and compile will throw error.


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De Morgan's Laws
Recommended Course
Stretch your analytic muscles with truth-tellers, liars, logical robots, and more!
Andy Hayes and Vincent Wu contributed
De Morgan's Laws describe how mathematical statements and concepts are related through their opposites. In set theory, De Morgan's Laws relate the intersection and union of sets through complements. In propositional logic, De Morgan's Laws relate conjunctions and disjunctions of propositions through negation. De Morgan's Laws are also applicable in computer engineering for developing logic gates.
Interestingly, regardless of whether De Morgan's Laws apply to sets, propositions, or logic gates, the structure is always the same.
Not (A and B) is the same as Not A or Not B.
Not (A or B) is the same as Not A and Not B.
This same structure can be used to make observations in cardinality of sets, to calculate certain probabilities, and to write equivalent propositions.
De Morgan's Laws for Sets
De Morgan's Laws for Logical Propositions
Application to Logic Gates
For sets, De Morgan's Laws are simply observations about the relation between sets and their complements. An easy way to visualize these rules is through Venn Diagrams.
Observe the union of the complements of two sets. On a Venn Diagram, this union covers all space in the Venn Diagram except for the intersection of the two sets. Hence, De Morgan's Law for the complement of an intersection of two sets.
Complement of an Intersection of Two Sets
The complement of the intersection of sets AAA and BBB is equal to the union of AcA^cAc and BcB^cBc.
A recent survey asked high school students whether or not they planned to go to the upcoming basketball game or the upcoming football game.
200 total students were surveyed.
58 students stated that they would miss at least one of the games (this includes the students that plan to miss both games).
How many students plan to attend both games?
Observe the intersection of the complements of two sets. On a Venn Diagram, this intersection covers all space in the Venn Diagram except for the union of the two sets. Hence, De Morgan's Law for the complement of a union of two sets.
Complement of a Union of Two Sets
The complement of the union of sets AAA and BBB is equal to the intersection of AcA^cAc and BcB^cBc.
How many integers between 1 and 1000 (inclusive) are neither multiples of 2 nor multiples of 5?
De Morgan's Laws can be generalized to any number of sets.
Generalization of the Complement of an Intersection of Sets
Let {A1, A2, …, An−1, An}\{A_1,\ A_2,\ \ldots ,\ A_{n-1},\ A_n\}{A1, A2, …, An−1, An} be a set of nnn sets. The complement of the intersection of these sets is:
(⋂k=1nAk)c=⋃k=1nAkc\left(\bigcap\limits_{k=1}^n{A_k}\right)^c=\bigcup\limits_{k=1}^n{A_k^c}(k=1⋂nAk)c=k=1⋃nAkc
The ⋂\displaystyle\bigcap⋂ and ⋃\displaystyle\bigcup⋃ symbols above are used to represent an intersection or union of many sets. For example, suppose there are four sets: B1B_1B1, B2B_2B2, B3B_3B3, and B4B_4B4. The union of these sets could be represented by (B1∪B2∪B3∪B4)(B_1\cup B_2\cup B_3\cup B_4)(B1∪B2∪B3∪B4). However, it could be represented more concisely with ⋃k=14Bk\displaystyle\bigcup\limits_{k=1}^4{B_k}k=1⋃4Bk.
Generalization of the Complement of a Union of Sets
Let {A1, A2, …, An−1, An}\{A_1,\ A_2,\ \ldots ,\ A_{n-1},\ A_n\}{A1, A2, …, An−1, An} be a set of nnn sets. The complement of the union of these sets is:
(⋃k=1nAk)c=⋂k=1nAkc\left(\bigcup\limits_{k=1}^n{A_k}\right)^c=\bigcap\limits_{k=1}^n{A_k^c}(k=1⋃nAk)c=k=1⋂nAkc
Because these generalizations require finding the unions and intersections of many sets, it is important to consider the principle of inclusion and exclusion when calculating the cardinality of sets with De Morgan's Laws.
Let a tough-to-test composite be a positive integer that is composite, but not divisible by 2, nor 3, nor 5.
Given that there are 168 prime numbers between 1 and 1000, how many tough-to-test composite numbers are there between 1 and 1000?
Notes: 1 is neither prime nor composite. There are some tough-to-test composite numbers that many would recognize as composite. For example, 49 and 77.
De Morgan's Laws follow a similar structure for logical propositions. The language of these concepts can seem intimidating, but the concepts themselves are fairly straightforward.
Negation of the Conjunction of Propositions
The negation of the conjunction of two propositions ppp and qqq is equivalent to the disjunction of the negations of those propositions.
¬(p∧q) ⟺ ¬p∨¬q\neg(p\wedge q)\iff \neg p \vee \neg q¬(p∧q)⟺¬p∨¬q
This can be confirmed with a truth table of the propositions ppp and qqq:
pq¬p¬qp∧q¬(p∧q)¬p∨¬qTTFFTFFTFFTFTTFTTFFTTFFTTFTT\begin{array}{|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|} \hline p & q & \neg p & \neg q & p\wedge q & \neg(p\wedge q) & \neg p \vee \neg q \\ \hline \text{T} & \text{T} & \text{F} & \text{F} & \text{T} & \text{F} & \text{F} \\ \text{T} & \text{F} & \text{F} & \text{T} & \text{F} & \text{T} & \text{T} \\ \text{F} & \text{T} & \text{T} & \text{F} & \text{F} & \text{T} & \text{T} \\ \text{F} & \text{F} & \text{T} & \text{T} & \text{F} & \text{T} & \text{T} \\ \hline \end{array}pTTFFqTFTF¬pFFTT¬qFTFTp∧qTFFF¬(p∧q)FTTT¬p∨¬qFTTT
What is an equivalent statement to "The lawn needs mowed and the car needs washed, but I will not do both."?
The two propositions are "I will mow the lawn" and "I will wash the car." Simply change the statement to an "or" statement and negate each of these propositions:
"Either I will not mow the lawn or I will not wash the car."
Note that this statement leaves open the possibility that one of the chores is completed, and it is also possible that neither chores are completed.
Negation of the Disjunction of Propositions
The negation of the disjunction of two propositions ppp and qqq is equivalent to the conjunction of the negations of those propositions.
¬(p∨q) ⟺ ¬p∧¬q\neg(p\vee q)\iff \neg p \wedge \neg q¬(p∨q)⟺¬p∧¬q
pq¬p¬qp∨q¬(p∨q)¬p∧¬qTTFFTFFTFFTTFFFTTFTFFFFTTFTT\begin{array}{|c|c|c|c|c|c|c|} \hline p & q & \neg p & \neg q & p\vee q & \neg(p\vee q) & \neg p \wedge \neg q \\ \hline \text{T} & \text{T} & \text{F} & \text{F} & \text{T} & \text{F} & \text{F} \\ \text{T} & \text{F} & \text{F} & \text{T} & \text{T} & \text{F} & \text{F} \\ \text{F} & \text{T} & \text{T} & \text{F} & \text{T} & \text{F} & \text{F} \\ \text{F} & \text{F} & \text{T} & \text{T} & \text{F} & \text{T} & \text{T} \\ \hline \end{array}pTTFFqTFTF¬pFFTT¬qFTFTp∨qTTTF¬(p∨q)FFFT¬p∧¬qFFFT
What is an equivalent statement to, "It is not the case that the dog is brown or black."?
The two propositions are "The dog is brown" and "The dog is black." Simply change the statement to an "and" statement and negate each of these propositions:
"The dog is not brown and it is not black."
Alternatively, an equivalent statement can be constructed with "neither" and "nor":
"The dog is neither brown nor black."
De Morgan's Laws can be generalized to any number of propositions.
Generalization of the Negation of a Conjunction
Let {p1, p2,…, pn−1, pn}\{p_1,\ p_2, \ldots,\ p_{n-1},\ p_n\}{p1, p2,…, pn−1, pn} be a set of nnn propositions. The negation of the conjunction of these propositions is equivalent to the disjunction of their negations:
¬(⋀k=1npk) ⟺ ⋁k=1n¬pk\neg\left(\bigwedge\limits_{k=1}^n{p_k}\right)\iff \bigvee\limits_{k=1}^n{\neg p_k}¬(k=1⋀npk)⟺k=1⋁n¬pk
Generalization of the Negation of a Disjunction
Let {p1, p2,…, pn−1, pn}\{p_1,\ p_2, \ldots,\ p_{n-1},\ p_n\}{p1, p2,…, pn−1, pn} be a set of nnn propositions. The negation of the disjunction of these propositions is equivalent to the conjunction of their negations:
¬(⋁k=1npk) ⟺ ⋀k=1n¬pk\neg\left(\bigvee\limits_{k=1}^n{p_k}\right)\iff \bigwedge\limits_{k=1}^n{\neg p_k}¬(k=1⋁npk)⟺k=1⋀n¬pk
In computer engineering, a NAND logic gate is considered to be universal, meaning that any logic gate can be constructed solely from NAND gates. Having an understanding of De Morgan's Laws can help one understand how to make these constructions.
A NAND gate has two inputs, A\text{A}A and B\text{B}B. Each of these inputs can have a value of 111 (for high) or 000 (for low).
The output, Q\text{Q}Q, of a NAND gate is 000 only if both inputs are 111. Otherwise, the output is 111.
ABQ110101011001\begin{array}{cc|c} \text{A} & \text{B} & \text{Q} \\ \hline 1 & 1 & 0 \\ 1 & 0 & 1 \\ 0 & 1 & 1 \\ 0 & 0 & 1 \\ \end{array}A1100B1010Q0111
Construction of a NOT gate
A NOT gate negates a signal. If the input is 111, then the output will be 000, and vice versa.
Consider how a NOT gate can be constructed from a NAND gate. If the same signal, A\text{A}A, is routed to both inputs of a NAND gate, then the inputs will look like either the top or bottom row of the truth table for NAND above. Thus, the NAND gate will produce the negated signal.
AQ1001\begin{array}{c|c} \text{A} & \text{Q} \\ \hline 1 & 0 \\ 0 & 1 \\ \end{array}A10Q01
Construction of an AND gate
An AND gate works just like a logical conjunction. If both input signals are 111, then the output signal is 111. Otherwise, the output signal is 000.
Consider how an AND gate can be constructed from NAND gates. Since a NAND gate produces the negation of an AND gate, it suffices to negate the signal again. This can be accomplished with the NOT construction above.
Construction of an OR gate
An OR gate works just like a logical disjunction. If both input signals are 000, then the output signal is 000. Otherwise, the output signal is 111.
Consider how an OR gate can be constructed from NAND gates. In particular, consider how De Morgan's Laws can be applied. By De Morgan's Laws, A NAND B is equivalent to A̅ OR B̅ (The overline represents the negation of a signal). Thus, an OR gate can be constructed by negating each input of a NAND gate.
Similarly, the NOT, AND, and OR gates can be constructed purely from NOR (negated OR) gates. NAND and NOR gates can also be used to construct the derived logic gates, XOR and XNOR. In fact, any truth table consisting of any number of inputs and outputs can be constructed solely from NAND gates or NOR gates.
Cite as: De Morgan's Laws. Brilliant.org. Retrieved from https://brilliant.org/wiki/de-morgans-laws/
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Home > Must a False Claims Act qui tam relator have firsthand knowledge of all aspects of the fraud?
Must a False Claims Act qui tam relator have firsthand knowledge of all aspects of the fraud?
By Jason Zuckerman | Last updated: November 26th, 2017
Generally, the qui tam relator (the whistleblower) need not have firsthand knowledge of every aspect of the fraud scheme. The First, Third, Fifth, and Ninth Circuits have "taken a more nuanced reading of the heightened pleading requirements of Rule 9(b), holding that it is sufficient for a plaintiff to allege `particular details of a scheme to submit false claims paired with reliable indicia that lead to a strong inference that [false] claims were actually submitted.'"
In U.S. ex rel. Galmines v. Novartis Pharm. Corp., 88 F.Supp.3d 447, 456 (E.D.Pa. 2015). the court indicated "that Third Circuit appellate precedent does not require [relator] to have firsthand knowledge of `all the relevant information' on which his allegations are based", and that "a relator's allegations need not be strictly limited to the information as to which she has direct and independent knowledge, provided that the relator has direct and independent knowledge of the critical elements of the alleged fraudulent scheme." The court in Galmines found that it should "allow original-source relators to pursue the entire fraudulent scheme for which they have direct and independent knowledge of the operative substantive facts, and not to limit relators to the specific time periods for which they have direct and independent knowledge, particularly where the relator has alleged the scheme was `continuing' as of the day they lost their direct and independent knowledge by reason of a cessation of employment or equivalent development." An "original source" is "an individual who has direct and independent knowledge of the information on which the allegations are based." 31 U.S.C. §3730(e)(4)(B).
What is tortious interference in Virginia?
What is whistleblower retaliation?
Are culpable whistleblowers eligible to receive SEC whistleblower awards?
CFTC Whistleblower Program: What are the largest CFTC whistleblower awards?
ZuckermanSEC@protonmail.com is NOT affiliated with the Zuckerman Law Firm


Appearance for Petitioner: Amy Laura Davidson, Esq.
Pursuant to G. L. c. 32, § 16(4), the Petitioner, Richard Roy, is appealing the August 30, 2006 decision of the Respondent, Springfield Retirement System, denying his request to purchase for creditable service his prior employment 1995-1999 with the Massachusetts Career Development Institute (MCDI) Alternative School. (Ex. 22) The appeal was timely filed. (Ex. 23) A hearing was held December 6, 2007, at the offices of the Division of Administrative Law Appeals (DALA), 98 North Washington Street, 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02114, pursuant to G. L. c. 7, §4H.
Various documents are in evidence. (Exs. 1 - 26. Exhibit 26 was filed post-hearing and is Mr. Roy's social security summary statement as of June 27, 2007.) Two tapes were used. The parties entered into stipulations of fact and filed pre-hearing memoranda. ("A") Mr. Roy testified. The Springfield Retirement System presented the testimony of Barry Metayer who has been with MCDI from 1985. Both parties filed post hearing briefs by February 8, 2008.
The issue in this appeal is whether or not Mr. Roy was an employee of a political subdivision or governmental unit or political unit of the Commonwealth between 1995 and 1999 when he was paid from the payroll of MCDI, Inc., and while he had social security deductions taken from his pay. The parties have briefed this issue. The key to resolving the issue is to examine the definitions in G. L. c. 32, § 1, and to review the pertinent case law. I conclude that because of the particular circumstances of this 1995-1999 employment, Mr. Roy was an employee who satisfied the prevailing tests for being a public employee under G. L. Chapter 32 so as to enable him to purchase that time for creditable service.
Any person who became or becomes an employee by reason of the taking over by the commonwealth, or by the metropolitan district commission or by any district, of any institution, or of any public or quasi-public enterprise, controlled and operated by a political subdivision of the commonwealth or by a corporation, … shall be credited with such service as would have been creditable service had it been rendered by him under the provisions of sections one to twenty-eight inclusive, or under corresponding provisions of earlier laws.
[A]ny employee who, having or having had the right to become a member, failed to become or elected not to become a member, may apply for and be admitted to membership if under the maximum age for his group on the date of his application; provided, that during his present period of service he had previously been eligible for membership; and any employee who, having had the right to become a member of any retirement system … failed to become or elected not to become a member, may apply for and be admitted to membership if under the maximum age for his group on the date of his application. No employee shall otherwise be admitted to membership except by vote of the retirement board of the system for which application is made, and then only if that board finds that his failure to become or his election not to become a member was caused by circumstances other than those generally applicable to employees ….
Mr. Roy should have been permitted to gain membership in the Springfield Retirement System between 1995-1999. At all times from 1995-1999 before coming onto the City payroll, he worked for the City of Springfield's MCDI Alternative School, a public school, and was simply paid by the non-profit, MCDI, Inc. The findings show that MCDI, Inc. had no mission distinct from being part of the MCDI Alternative School. MCDI, Inc. received funds from federal, state, and private sources for the benefit of the Alternative School. This conclusion might not be supportable if: the Executive Director of MCDI, Inc. was a non-public employee; Mr. Roy was directly supervised by non-public employees; Mr. Roy worked only with non-public employees; or the MCDI Alternative School had private tuition paying middle and high school students. None of these alternative scenarios are pertinent. I do not conclude that the MCDI Alternative School, because it had the MCDI, Inc. component to it, was a private school teaching students who happened to have their tuition paid by the City of Springfield. Mr. Roy received regular compensation from a political subdivision, the City of Springfield, between 1995-1999. Regular compensation is defined in G. L. c. 32, §1 as "salary, wages or other compensation in whatever form, lawfully determined for the individual service of the employee by the employing authority." The need to pay him from the non-profit corporation's payroll had no impact on the fact that he was rendering service only for the City of Springfield. Perhaps there was not sufficient funding flowing from the Springfield School Department to the MCDI Alternative School so that use of the non-profit corporation's funds were used to pay him during this time period. There was no other purpose served by this non-profit than to benefit the MCDI Alternative School. His service satisfied the definition of employee in Section 1 since he was regularly employed in the service of the public school, the MCDI Alternative School. Employer is defined in Section 1 to cover a person, board, or commission having the power to employ persons as employees for the political subdivision. Because he was hired by the Executive Director of MCDI, Inc., and because he and all the Executive Directors of MCDI, Inc. have been City of Springfield employees appointed by the Mayor, the definition of employer is satisfied. There is no evidence to show a non-City of Springfield employee set his salary. Governmental unit is defined in Section 1 to be synonymous with political subdivision. Political subdivision is defined in Section 1 to include a "city, town … or any other public unit in the commonwealth." Massachusetts DOE recognizes the MCDI Alternative School as a public school with public school students attending it, and all of its governance is done by City of Springfield employees. MCDI, Inc. is only a component of the MCDI Alternative School, and is no less a political unit of the City of Springfield. These facts show the pertinent definitions of Section 1 are satisfied by Mr. Roy's circumstances during 1995-1999.
The Springfield Retirement System cites case law that concludes employment by a non-profit corporation is private employment ineligible for creditable service. See, Castellano v. Springfield Retirement System, CR-04-1118 (DALA, 5/2/06) (CRAB, 1/3/07) (an employee of a non-profit corporation set up to plan for and to have oversight over CETA and its predecessor programs of JFTA and WIA, who had social security deductions taken from his pay, and who was required to participate in a non-contributory defined contribution pension plan, was not working for a governmental unit so his service was not eligible for creditable service); ( Popeo v. Worcester Retirement Board, CR-95-963 (DALA, 6/6/96) (CRAB, 10/7/96) (the Executive Director of a non-profit corporation designated by the City of Worcester as an anti-poverty agency who had social security deductions from his pay, was not a City employee); ( McLaughlin & Ciommo v. Boston Retirement Board, CR-00-1162 & 1163 (DALA, 7/19/02) (no CRAB Decision) (employees of a non-profit corporation managing grants for the City of Boston were not City employees); ( Davis v. Teachers' Retirement System, CR-02-46 (DALA, 5/24/02) (No CRAB Decision) (an employee of an alcohol and substance abuse program operated by a non-profit corporation funded by state and local funds, did not work for a governmental unit eligible for creditable service). On the other hand, there are cases where clear overlaps and intertwined functions and governance between a governmental unit and a non-profit corporation have concluded that is enough to make the service employment for a political unit or governmental unit, and eligible for creditable service. In Sennott v. Teachers' Retirement Board, CR-03-688 (DALA, 12/5/03) (No CRAB Decision), Ms. Sennott taught typing for a federally-funded employment and training agency that was established to help residents of the City of Gardner. The agency was made a non-profit corporation although that did not change its operations or funding in any way or its status with the City. The agency operated out of a City building, and did not pay rent. Ms. Sennott was paid by the non-profit corporation. Nevertheless, she was found able to gain creditable service for this work. The agency was found to be a public unit under the G. L. c. 32, § 1 definition of political subdivision because it was a component unit of the City of Gardner. In Boyle v. Pittsfield Retirement Board, CR-02-587 (DALA, 5/11/07) (Objections filed, CRAB decision pending), service for a training and employment program that was primarily federally funded, although the program was within a non-profit corporation, was eligible for creditable service. There was an overlap between the City's work and the non-profit's work, as well as governance of the non-profit by City employees. Although social security deductions had been taken from the pay received by Mr. Boyle, this fact was not found to be decisive. The program Mr. Boyle worked for was considered to be an unclassified department of the City of Pittsfield. At all times the Mayor of Pittsfield had the authority to promote, demote or discharge Mr. Boyle from his employment. The Mayor had administrative, financial, and oversight responsibility over the non-profit's program. The case of Gomes v. CRAB, Middlesex Superior Court No. 94-5927-B, Welch, J. (1995) was relied upon to show that the source of funds, i.e. federal grants, will not prevent the service from being eligible for creditable service.
The findings show an abundance of factors in Mr. Roy's circumstances of the clear connection of his service to benefit the City of Springfield's public school students, including the City of Springfield's administration and control of the MCDI Alternative School. There is ample support to find Mr. Roy worked for a political subdivision or political unit of the commonwealth from 1995-1999 in satisfaction of the Section 1 requirements. This means that service is eligible for creditable service. Further support for this conclusion is the vote of the Springfield Retirement System in September 2000 making all twelve remaining employees of MCDI, Inc. members of the Springfield Retirement System.
For these reasons, the decision of the Springfield Retirement System is rescinded and Mr. Roy is to receive creditable service for his work between 1995-1999 for the MDCI Alternative School when he was paid through MCDI, Inc.


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Single-study reports
Published on Feb 16, 2021DOI
Daily Stress and Affect Across Adulthood: The Role of Social Interactions via Different Communication Modes
by Xin Yao Lin and Margie E. Lachman
Published onFeb 16, 2021
Communication with one's social network can take place in person or using technology. Past studies have mainly focused on the effects of communication modality (in-person, telephone calling, text messaging, and internet) on stress and affect at a between person level by exploring the individual differences. Yet few studies have compared such effects at a within-person level, that is, how an individual varies over time. We conducted a diary study over 7 days for 145 participants (ages 22–94) mostly from the greater Boston area to test the role each communication mode played in daily stress exposure, stress reactivity, and positive and negative affect using within-person analyses. Multilevel modeling results revealed that days with more frequent text messaging were associated with greater stress exposure and negative affect. Days with more in-person communication were associated with more positive affect. Days with more telephone calls were associated with less negative affect. Internet communication was not associated with stress or affect at a within-person level. To address the directionality of our findings, we also conducted lagged analyses that suggested that higher previous-day frequency of text messaging was related to higher stress exposure on the subsequent day. In addition, higher previous stress exposure was related to less telephone calling on the subsequent day. Implications and future research are discussed with a focus on how social interactions via different communication modes with one's social network can make a difference for daily well-being.
Keywords: social interactions, computer-mediated communication, in-person communication, daily stress, positive and negative affect
Disclosure and Acknowledgment: This research was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Aging #RO1 AG 17920 and this funding source had no other involvement other than financial support. In addition, we would like to thank Alycia Sullivan Bisson, Jenna DeFrancisco, Mona Zheng, Brandeis University writing center, and Lifespan Developmental Psychology Lab members. If interested in using the data or seeing the instruments used for the current study, please contact the authors. The current study examined different variables compared with prior publications that used this dataset. Specifically, prior publications focused on control beliefs, cognition, physical activity, happiness, and selection, optimization and compensation (SOC), which differed significantly from the aims of the current study. Prior uses of data include the following published articles: Rickenbach et al. (2019), Robinson et al., 2016, Robinson and Lachman (2018) and Teshale and Lachman (2016).
Interactive Content: Social Interactions Survey; Daily Frequency of Communication Modes Graph (based on Current Study); Communication Modes and Stress/Affect Visualizations.
With the proliferation of numerous electronic devices, computer-mediated communication (CMC) today allows for a wide range of social interactions with friends and family members via different communication modes—text messaging, social media, and online chats. CMC makes social interactions possible for individuals at any location, time, and setting. Therefore, it is important to recognize that social interactions between individuals can occur across multiple platforms. Past research has primarily focused on CMC for young adolescents and young adults (Vanden Abeele et al., 2017). However, recent decades saw a drastic increase in CMC in midlife and older adults (Pew Research Center, 2017d). Thus, it is essential to include adults of all ages when examining different usages of communication modes.
Social relationships are associated with daily stress. Daily stressors are challenges individuals experience on a daily basis, which may consist of everyday concerns and unexpected events that interfere with their day-to-day life (Almeida, 2005). Many of the stressors identified were associated with interpersonal relationships. Between-person analyses have shown that more CMC such as text messaging and the internet were associated with more stress (Thomée et al., 2011). However, the role that communication modes play in daily stress at a within-person level is not known.
Past research has also illustrated the importance of communication modes for positive and negative affect. Positive affect refers to the extent to which an individual feels energetic, concentrated, and full of enjoyable engagement. Negative affect is characterized by a person's perceived distress and unenjoyable engagement, which consists of various adverse moods (Watson et al., 1992). Between-person analyses have shown that more social interaction, particularly in-person interaction, is associated with more positive affect compared with text or instant messages (Holtzman et al., 2017; Sacco & Ismail, 2014). The relationship between communication modes and negative affect is mixed, with some studies showing little or no effect for any communication modes and some studies showing that more CMC usage is associated with more negative affect (Holtzman et al., 2017; LaRose et al., 2014). However, little is known regarding the role that communication modes play in positive and negative affect at a within-person level. To what extent are variations in daily affect related to differences in communication modes used (in-person, telephone calling, text messaging, and internet)?
Social Interactions via Different Communication Modes
There has been a sharp rise in recent years of social connections via text messaging and the internet for social media platforms. Smartphones, internet usages, and social media platforms were no longer only occupied by young adults. As of 2010, 72% of adults use text messages (Pew Research Center, 2010). The numbers continue to rise and as of 2016, 88% of those aged 30–49, 74% of 50–64 years old, and 42% of 65 years and older own a smartphone (Pew Research Center, 2017b). Approximately 96% of those aged 30–49, 87% of 50–64 years old, and 64% of people 65 years and older use the internet to connect with others and gather information regularly (Pew Research Center, 2017a). Additionally, approximately 70% of Americans use social media to communicate with others, and engage and share information, which represents a dramatic increase since 2005 when only 5% of Americans used one of the social media platforms. By 2016, 64% of the population, 50–64 years old, and 34% of the population over 65 years old use at least one social media site (Pew Research Center, 2017c). These dramatic increases in CMC among adults of all ages bring the question of the role multimodal communication plays in the context of one's daily life.
Theoretical Perspectives
"Cues Filtered out" Theory
"Cues filtered out" (CFO) theory explains how CMC and in-person interactions differ and influence social relationships. This theory states that text-based CMC lacks verbal and nonverbal physical and social cues in social interactions. Individuals using CMC experience reduced social context cues because they cannot observe gestures, voice tones, and facial expressions of others. In contrast, in-person interactions provide rich verbal and nonverbal cues that enhance social relationships (Sproull et al., 1991).
The CFO theory has also been linked to affect and stress. Nonverbal cues such as smiles and laughs are easily contagious and prone to mimicry during in-person or telephone communications (Hess & Fischer, 2013), which can increase one's positive mood and reduce one's negative mood (Tsujita & Rekimoto, 2011). The social and physical presence of others can also provide more support for individuals under stress (Holtzman et al, 2017; Jakubiak & Feeney, 2016). Contrary to in-person and telephone communications, nonverbal, verbal, social and physical cues are much less prominent in text-based CMC: People are more likely to overestimate their accuracy in conveying their emotions (e.g., sarcasm and humor) through text-based CMC than in-person and voice communication (Kruger et al., 2005). The misinterpreted emotions can lead to adverse reactions. In other words, if one is in conflict with others, CMC can escalate the conflict because of the misinterpretation of others' emotions (Derks et al., 2008), which can lead to more interpersonal stress (Holtzman et al., 2017).
Empirical Studies
Stress exposure and reactivity are related to interpersonal occurrences. A description of stressor content measures from the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE) data showed that 50% of stressful events occurred due to an argument or tension with others, and the second highest occurrence of stressful events (15.4%) occurred because of an event that happened to others within the participant's network. In addition, perceived reactivity to stressful events that happened to one's family and friends was rated the highest among all stressor contents (Almeida et al., 2011).
Given the relationship between interpersonal relations and stress, it is important to examine how social interaction via different communication modes affects stress. Some research has shown that CMC increased one's stress (Thomée et al., 2011). A one-year follow-up study for young adults showed that high mobile phone usage at baseline increased risks for poor health symptoms at the follow-up (Thomée et al, 2011). More internet communication such as email and social media platforms was also associated with more stress. One study revealed that the more time people spent on emails, the more they felt a sense of overload and stress (Barley et al., 2011). Online social networks were also shown as a source and symbol of stress (Maier et al., 2012) caused by social interaction overload (Laumer et al., 2013) in which the social network users felt they provided too much social support to other users. On social network sites such as Facebook, users feel the need to react to the constant stream of new messages and posts each time they log on. This form of social interaction might lead to social overload (Maier et al, 2012). Social network users also experienced social network fatigue. This fatigue resulted from staying socially connected for too long due to the copious amount of content available on social networks, which led to stress (Ravindran et al., 2014). A study in Germany examined German internet users between the ages of 14 and 85 years old and revealed that more private emails and social media messages resulted in a communication load that was positively related to perceived stress (Reinecke et al., 2017). In addition, in-person support was more effective than text messages in times of stress (Holtzman et al., 2017). Thus, growing evidence suggests that social interaction via different communication modes makes a difference for stress.
Positive and Negative Affect
The quantity of social interactions and positive affect are strongly related. Watson (1988) examined the relationship between social interactions in terms of the number of hours participants spent with friends during the day and one's daily positive and negative affect. Results suggested that social interactions were positively correlated with positive affect, such that more time spent interacting with friends was related to more positive affect at a within-subjects level. To explore the causal effect, an experimental study revealed that one's positive affect increased after a social interaction with a classmate who was previously unknown to the participant (McIntyre et al., 1991). Recent studies found that in-person communication was also related to more positive affect compared with other communication modes. Compared with CMC, people's emotions tend to be more positive and less negative after in-person communication (Kafetsios et al., 2017). Receiving support in-person was also related to higher positive affect and social belongingness compared with texting or instant messages (Holtzman et al., 2017; Sacco & Ismail, 2014).
In contrast to positive affect, the correlation between social activities and negative affect has been inconsistent and mixed. Some studies revealed no relationships between negative affect and type and amount of social interactions, whereas other studies presented a weak relationship (Watson et al., 1992). In addition, negative affect was not changed after instances of social interaction (McIntyre et al., 1991). The roles that communication modes play on negative affect were also mixed. Some recent studies noted that in-person or text messaging was not related to negative affect (Holtzman et al., 2017). Other studies reported that CMC such as telephone calling and instant messaging reduced negative affect (Sacco & Ismail, 2014). CMC has also distracted and reduced enjoyment for individuals during in-person interactions (Przybylski & Weinstein, 2013), which predicted worse moods (Dwyer et al., 2018).
Current Study and Hypotheses
Few studies have examined the frequency of contact with friends and family members in one's social network across adulthood while specifying the communication mode the participants used. Thus, the current study examined the daily frequency of each communication mode usage (in-person, telephone calling, text messaging, and internet). In addition, most research on stress and affect in relation to social interactions via different communication modes has focused on adolescents and young adults in college. Little is known regarding the relationship between communication modes, daily stress, and affect for adults beyond the age of college students. Furthermore, past research has examined each communication mode separately. It is likely that one might speak with a friend in-person and via social media on the same day. The current study took into account the usage of multimodal communication in participants' daily lives by including the frequency of each communication mode in the same model when predicting stress and affect.
Past studies have typically examined social interaction via different communication modes and well-being by comparing across persons and using cross-sectional (one-time survey) or long-term longitudinal (e.g., once every year) design but have not considered daily variations within persons. However, individuals' usage of different communication modes and their well-being can differ on a day-to-day basis (Almeida, 2005; Antonucci et al., 2017; Cornwell, 2011). The present study used within-person analyses to examine whether days with more social interaction via different communication modes would be associated with more or less stress and affect for the same individual across 1 week.
Based on the past studies and the CFO theory, it was predicted that at a within-person level, days with more in-person communication and telephone calling would be associated with less stress exposure (1 A & 1B), reactivity (2 A & 2B), negative affect (4 A & 4B), and more positive affect (3 A & 3B). Moreover, days with higher usage of text messaging and internet would be associated with more stress exposure (1C & 1D), reactivity (2C & 2D), negative affect (4C & 4D), and less positive affect (3C &3D) (Figure 1).
Figure 1. The "CFO" Theory and Hypotheses.
Note. According to the "CFO" theory, in-person and telephone interactions provide more verbal, nonverbal physical, or social cues, which can increase positive affect and decrease stress and negative affect. In contrast, text-based communication (text messaging and the internet) has less verbal, nonverbal, physical, or social cues in social interactions, which can decrease positive affect and increase stress and negative affect. Thus, it was predicted that at a within-person level, days with more in-person communication and telephone calling would be associated with less stress exposure (1 A & 1B), reactivity (2 A & 2B), and negative affect (4 A & 4B), and more positive affect (3 A & 3B). Moreover, days with higher usage of text messaging and internet would be associated with more stress exposure (1C & 1D), reactivity (2C & 2D), negative affect (4C & 4D), and less positive affect (3C &3D). The supported hypotheses are represented with green arrows and those that were predicted but not supported are shown with black arrows.
In order to examine the directionality of the relationships, lagged relationships between each communication mode and the outcome variables (stress and affect) were tested to explore whether the frequency of each communication mode on the previous day was related to stress and affect on the subsequent day and vice versa.
Participants (N = 145) ranging from 22 to 94 years old were recruited from mostly the greater Boston area with local newspapers, local signs, and online advertisements for the Daily Experiences and Memory study, which was conducted for a period of 7 days. The participants were stratified by age, sex, and educational attainment. This study consisted of 40% males and 60% females with a mean age of 51 (SD = 19). Education level for the participants ranged from high school to doctoral level, and most received at least some level of college education with an average of 15 years of education (SD = 2). Participants in the study consisted of 73.1% White, 15.2% Black or African American, 4.9% Hispanic or Latin American, 2.1% Asian, and the rest were more than one race. Participants were compensated with a total of $100 upon completion of the study for the seven daily diaries and $10 was subtracted for each uncompleted diary. Participants were asked to sign the informed consent on the first page of the background survey and mail it back to the lab with the diary. Upon completion, compensation and debriefing explanations were mailed to the participants.
Daily Measures
Frequency of Communication Modes
The frequency of daily social interactions via each communication mode was included in a nightly diary entry which measured the amount of time participants spent interacting with their family and friends in-person, by telephone calling (using a telephone), text messaging (using a cellphone), and over the internet (such as email, Facebook, Twitter, Instant Messenger, etc.) not including video chat (such as Skype, Google Hangout). Participants responded using a five-point Likert scale with the following options, 1- "Not at all," 2- "One or two times today," 3- "A few times today," 4- "Several times today," and 5- "Nearly all day." Daily scores for each of the communication modes ranged from 1 to 5. A higher score indicated a greater frequency of using a specific communication mode while a low score indicated more infrequent use of a specific communication mode. The internal consistency reliability of the daily rating for each communication mode was calculated across the seven study days. Cronbach's alpha for each communication mode was as follows: in-person: .835, telephone: .860, text messaging: .948, internet: .889.
Daily Stress
In order to determine the types of stressors, the Daily Inventory of Stressful Events (DISE) was developed, which proposed how sociodemographic, psychosocial, and situational elements contribute to daily stress exposure and reactivity (Almeida et al., 2002). To reduce participant burden, the diary only asked five of the seven most relevant items of DISE from the MIDUS Daily Diary study (Almeida et al., 2002).
Stress Exposure
Exposure to stress was the sum of the stressful events that occurred within the last 24 hr. Participants were asked "In the last 24 hr, did you have an argument with anyone," "a stressful event at home," "an encounter with a friend or family member that's stressful," "something that you could have argued/disagreed about but let it go," and "an event at school, work, or a volunteer setting that's stressful." Participants would respond with "yes" or "no" to each question. For each question, participants were informed to only select "yes" if the question referred to an event "other than what they have already mentioned in the previous questions." A "yes" response would yield a score of 1, and a "no" response would yield a score of 0. Exposure to stress was measured by summing the total number of exposures to stress for each study day (Stress Exposure). Daily stress exposure scores ranged from 0 to 5. Higher scores indicated higher exposure to stress while lower scores indicated lower exposure to stress.
Stress Reactivity
Reactivity or stress level was determined by the severity of the response for each interpersonal stressor based on a Likert scale ranging from 1-"Not at all," 2-"A little," 3-"Somewhat," and 4-"Very." Participants were asked "how stressful was this for you?" for each of the stress exposure items they responded "yes" to. Only items participants had exposure to were counted for stress reactivity. The scale was recoded from 0 (not at all) to 3 (very). Stress reactivity was measured by the sum of severity for all stress items for each study day (Stress Reactivity). The possible daily stress reactivity score ranged from 0 to 15. Higher scores indicated higher reactivity to stress while lower scores indicated lower reactivity to stress.
Positive and Negative Affect Schedule
Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) consisted of a total of 22 items: nine items from the original PANAS scale (Watson 1988) and 12 items from the Positive and Negative Affect scale in Midlife Development Inventory (MIDI) (Mroczek & Kolarz, 1998). Participants were asked to report how often during the day they felt positive and negative feelings based from a one (very slightly or not at all) to five (extremely) Likert scale. This questionnaire resulted in a score for both positive affect and negative affect (Mroczek & Kolarz, 1998). Positive items include 11 items: "Cheerful," "In good spirits," "Extremely Happy," "Calm and peaceful," "Satisfied" (Mroczek & Kolarz, 1998), "Full of life," "Enthusiastic," "Attentive," "Proud," "Active" (Watson 1988), and "In control of my life." The total daily positive affect score could range from 11 to 55, with a higher score indicating a higher level of positive affect. Negative items also contained 11 items: "So sad nothing could cheer you up," "Nervous," "Restless or fidgety," "Hopeless," "That everything was an effort," "worthless" (Mroczek & Kolarz, 1998), "Afraid," "jittery," "Irritable," "Ashamed," and "Upset" (Watson 1988). Total daily negative affect scores could range from 11 to 55, with a higher score indicating a higher level of negative affect.
Covariates
Covariates included participants' age, sex (1 = male, 2 = female), years of education (6–20 years), neuroticism, and social network size, because these variables have shown to be related to the outcome variables (Almeida & Kessler, 1998; Grzywacz et al., 2004).
Neuroticism
Neuroticism served as a covariate because past studies showed that those with higher neuroticism had more daily stress and negative affect (Mroczek & Almeida, 2004). More neurotic individuals were also associated with more stress reactivity compared with less neurotic individuals (Bolger & Zuckerman, 1995). Neuroticism was measured by calculating the mean across the following traits: moody, worrying, nervous, and calm (R). Participants indicated how well each of the adjectives described them on a Likert scale from 1 "A lot" to 4 "Not at all." All items for this trait except "calm" were reverse coded so higher scores reflected higher standing for neuroticism.
Social Network Size
Social network size served as a covariate because one's social network size is positively associated with frequency of contact with his or her social network members and well-being (Fiori et al., 2007; Van Tilburg, 1995). Participants were asked about the family and friends that make up their social circle. They were asked to write down the initials of those in their inner, middle, and peripheral circles (Kahn & Antonucci, 1980). Each initial was counted with a score of 1 and was summed from the three categories of social network to determine the total number of people in the participant's social network, in this case, it would be the participants' social network size. The social network size score ranged from 1 to 72.
The present study represents a secondary analysis of an existing data set. Given the use of within-person analyses, the present study has a total of 1,015 diary entries (145 participants × 7 days of diary entries). The observed power for the present study was computed with the available sample size (reported in the "Results" section). The study was approved by Brandeis University's Institutional Review Board. Before participating in the study, participants were prescreened for eligibility over the phone by completing the Pfeiffer questionnaire, a "short portable mental status questionnaire" consisting of 10 items to ensure that participants were mentally functioning and had no severe organic impairment. Participants were eligible if they had no more than two errors on the test (Pfeiffer, 1975). Once the eligibility was determined, the participant was sent a packet that contained informed consent, a background survey, seven daily dairies, a payment form, and an envelope for each daily diary to mail back to the lab (Robinson et al., 2016).
Participants were instructed to complete the background questionnaire the day before their first diary. The participants filled out the diary for seven days at consistent times every night before bed. Participants would specify the preferred time in the evening they would like to be called, and research assistants from the lab would call and remind the participants each evening to complete and send in their diary the next day. The response rate was high, with 92.4% of participants mailing back all seven diaries, 4.8% mailing back six of the seven diaries, and 1.4% mailing back four of seven diaries (Teshale & Lachman, 2016). The diary included questionnaires that were of interest to the current study, as well as other questionnaires not included in the current study. Data and materials used for the current study can be obtained by contacting the authors.
Within-Person Analyses
To examine whether the frequency of each communication mode (in-person, telephone calling, text messaging, and internet) varied in its relationship to stress exposure, stress reactivity, positive affect, and negative affect at a within-person level, a ("person-centered") daily change score of the frequency of each communication mode was calculated for each participant across the seven study days. Each participant in the study had seven days of ratings for the frequency of in-person communication (from day 1 to day 7). An average in-person score was computed as the mean of the participant's ratings for in-person communication from day 1 to day 7. Then, for each participant's every study day (from day 1 to day 7), we subtracted the average in-person score from participant's daily rating of in-person communication to get his/her daily change score (person-centered In-Person) (Qian et al., 2014). The daily change score ("person-centered" In-Person) represents the fluctuation in frequency of in-person communication within-person over the study days. A positive person-centered in-person score represents a day with an above-average frequency of in-person communication for a participant, whereas a negative person-centered in-person score represents a below average frequency of in-person communication for the individual. The person-centered in-person score represents the within-person aspect of frequency of in-person communication, as we can compare a person's day one to his/her day two. The average in-person score for each participant represents between-person frequency of in-person communication, indicating that the individual's average frequency of in-person communication is compared with that of another person. The same computations were used for frequency of telephone calling (Average Telephone Calling, Person-Centered Telephone Calling), frequency of text messaging (Average Text Messaging, Person-Centered Text Messaging) and frequency of internet communication (Average Internet, Person-Centered Internet).
The current study used multilevel modeling (MLM). The basic form of the multilevel model used for this study is as follows:
Level 1: Outcomeij = ß 0j + ß 1j Predictorij + e ij
Level 2: ß 0j = γ00 + u 0j
The outcome variables (Outcomeij) (stress exposure, stress reactivity, and positive affect, and negative affect) at Level 1 are expressed as a within-person intercept (ß 0j), within-person predictor (ß 1j Predictorij), which includes the frequency of all communication modes (person-centered in-person, person-centered telephone calling, person-centered text messaging, and person-centered internet), and within-person error term (e ij). For Level 2, the within-person intercept is expressed as a function of fixed intercept (covariates and average in-person, telephone calling, text messaging, and internet). The intraclass correlation (ICC) was first calculated which indicates the proportion of total variance in each communication mode and outcome variable (stress exposure, stress reactivity, and positive affect, and negative affect) that is due to Level 2 units or individual effects. Sufficient variation in the outcome variables is necessary for further MLM analyses.
The multilevel model was fitted to include the frequency of each communication mode (in-person, telephone calling, text messaging, and internet) to test whether the frequency of each communication mode varied in its relationship to stress exposure, stress reactivity, positive affect, and negative affect at a within-person level. In other words, on days in which one has more frequent social interactions using a specific communication mode, is this related to more or less stress exposure, stress reactivity, positive affect, and negative affect? The covariates and the average of each communication mode were controlled for these analyses.
The Intraclass Correlation
ICC for Each Communication Mode
Given that we assessed the frequency of communication modes on 7 days, in addition to internal consistency reliability, the ICC was also calculated for each communication mode. The ICC indicated the proportion of total variance for each communication mode (in-person, telephone, text messaging, and internet) that was due to within-person effects. Similar to Harari et al., (2019) study which measured each communication mode objectively, the current study also showed sufficient within-person variability for participants across the week. For daily in-person communication, 45.44% of variation was between-person and 54.56% of variation was within-person. For daily telephone calling, 46% of variation was between-person and 54% of variation was within-person. For daily text messaging, 70.18% of variation was between-person and 29.82% of variation was within-person. For daily internet use, 50.32% of variation was between-person and 49.68% of variation was within-person. These results suggested the importance of examining each communication mode on a day-to-day basis at the within-person level.
ICC in Outcome Variables
The ICC showed that overall, 34.8% of variation in daily stress exposure was between-person, and 65.2% of variation was within-person. In addition, 26.1% of variation in daily stress reactivity was between-person, and 73.9% of variation was within-person. Overall, 36.1% of variation in daily positive affect was within-person, and 63.9% of variation was between-person. Moreover, 70.4% of variation in daily negative affect was between-person, and 29.6% of variation was within-person. These results indicated that there were sufficient variations in the outcome variables for further analyses.
Descriptive and Between-Person Results
The means, standard deviations, and correlations for all variables at the between-person level are included in Table 1. Age had a strong negative correlation with the frequency of text messaging, r = −0.68, p < .001, and a moderate negative correlation with the frequency of internet communication, r = −0.30, p < .001. Sex was not related to the frequency of any communication mode or to the outcome variables. Similar to past work, social network size was positively skewed (Zahodne et al., 2019). A higher social network size was moderately related to more frequent in-person communication, r = 0.26, p = .002, text messaging, r = 0.38, p < .001, internet communication, r = 0.30, p < .001, and positive affect, r = 0.17, p = .04, as well as less negative affect, r = −0.21, p = .01. Higher neuroticism was moderately related to less positive affect, r = −0.45, p < .001, and more stress reactivity, r = 0.32, p < .001, and strongly related to more negative affect, r = 0.57, p < .001. Higher education was moderately related to more frequent in-person communication, r = 0.18, p = .03, internet communication, r = 0.21, p = .01, positive affect, r = 0.24, p = .004, less telephone calling, r = −0.23, p = .006, stress reactivity, r = −0.19, p = .03, and negative affect, r = −0.27, p = .001 (see Table 1).
Between-Person Results
The between-person results for the association between each communication mode (Average In-Person, Average Telephone Calling, Average Text Messaging, and Average Internet) and stress and affect in the multilevel level model are presented in Table 2. Average In-Person, Average Telephone Calling, Average Text Messaging, and Average Internet did not predict stress exposure, stress reactivity, and negative affect. However, higher in-person communication predicted more positive affect at a between-person level, ß = 1.73, p = .03. Average Telephone Calling, Average Text Messaging, and Average Internet did not predict positive affect.
Communication Modes and Stress Exposure and Reactivity
The result was as predicted such that days with more text messaging were associated with more stressful events (1C), ß = 0.15, p = .01, while controlling for all other communication modes (power = 0.81). However, person-centered text messaging was not significant for stress reactivity (2C), ß = 0.27, p = .09. Contrary to the predictions, the coefficients for person-centered in-person, telephone calling, and internet were not significant for stress exposure (1 A, 1B, 1D), ß = 0.009, p = .81, ß = 0.03, p = .52, ß = 0.03, p = .55, or reactivity (2 A, 2B, 2D), ß = 0.004, p = .97, ß = 0.02, p = .88, ß = −0.03, p = .79, respectively (Figure 1, Table 2).
Data Visualization 1. Sample data from a single participant showing day-to-day associations between text messaging and stress exposure. For this participant, days with more text messaging were associated with more stress exposure and days with less text messaging were associated with less stress exposure. Both variables were standardized for presentation on the same scale. The y-axis indicates deviations of daily scores from this individual's average across the week.
Communication Modes and Positive and Negative Affect
Support was found for the prediction that days with more in-person communication were associated with more positive affect (3 A), ß = 0.85, p < .001, while controlling for other communication modes (power = 0.95). However, no relationship between the frequency of in-person communication and negative affect was found (4 A), ß = 0.04, p = .73. The prediction that more telephone communication than an individual's weekly average would be associated with less negative affect (4B), ß = −0.35, p = .05, was supported (power = 0.82). Contrary to predictions, the relationship between telephone calling and positive affect was not significant (3B), ß = 0.01, p = .97. When the frequency of text messaging and internet was tested in relation to less positive and more negative affect, the prediction was only supported for more negative affect on high text messaging days (4C), ß = 0.46, p = .03 (power = 0.82), but not for the internet (4D), ß = 0.11, p = .51. Results were not significant for positive affect in relation to text messaging (3C) and internet (3D) days, ß = 0.15, p = .71, ß = −0.16, p = .63, respectively (Figure 1, Table 2).1
Data Visualization 2. Sample data from a single participant showing day-to-day associations between in-person communication and positive affect. For this participant, days with more in-person communication were associated with more positive affect and days with less in-person communication were associated with less positive affect. Both variables were standardized for presentation on the same scale. The y-axis indicates deviations of daily scores from this individual's average across the week.
Data Visualization 3. Sample data from a single participant showing day-to-day associations between telephone calling and negative affect. For this participant, days with more telephone calling were associated with less negative affect and days with less telephone calling were associated with more negative affect. Both variables were standardized for presentation on the same scale. The y-axis indicates deviations of daily scores from this individual's average across the week.
Data Visualization 4. Sample data from a single participant showing day-to-day associations between text messaging and negative affect. For this participant, days with more text messaging were associated with more negative affect and days with less text messaging were associated with less negative affect. Both variables were standardized for presentation on the same scale. The y-axis indicates deviations of daily scores from this individual's average across the week.
Exploratory Results
Lagged Relationships
In order to examine the directionality of the relationships, we tested the lagged relationship between each communication mode and the outcome variables (stress and affect). First, we examined whether the frequency of each communication mode on the previous day was related to stress and affect on the subsequent day. Results indicated a significant lagged relationship between frequency of text messaging and stress exposure, ß = 0.13, p = .03, which suggested that a higher previous-day frequency of text messaging was related to higher stress exposure on the subsequent day (power = 0.76) (Table 3). Previous-day stress and affect were examined in relation to the frequency of each communication mode on the subsequent day. Person-centered stress and affect were calculated the same way as person-centered scores for each communication mode. Results revealed that higher previous-day stress exposure was related to significantly less telephone calling on the subsequent day, ß = −0.06, p = .04 (power = 0.93) (Table 4). The lagged relationships between other communication modes were not significantly related to stress reactivity and affect.
The present study examined the relationship between the frequency of communication modes (in-person, telephone calling, text messaging, and internet) and individual's psychological well-being (stress exposure, stress reactivity, positive affect, and negative affect) on a daily basis. Rather than only taking one snapshot of participants' lives, the daily diary design allowed us to probe the temporal association between participants' daily social interactions via different communication modes and their daily well-being. Given that social interactions and well-being can vary from day to day (Antonucci et al., 2014; Almeida, 2005), it is important to determine the daily aspects of social interactions that would be associated with one's daily health and well-being on the same or subsequent day.
Communication Modes and Stress
Results for MLM analyses supported our predictions that higher text messaging days were associated with more stress exposure, but it was not associated with stress reactivity. This could be due to the asynchronous nature of text messaging: while people may be exposed to more interpersonal stressful events, they can choose to ignore the message and not react or respond immediately. Rather, they can always return to the message at a much later time or whenever they feel more comfortable (Maier et al., 2012). Contrary to the predictions, in-person, telephone calling, and internet communication were not associated with same-day stress exposure and reactivity. This could be due to the synchronous nature of these communication modes, where conflicts or stressful events can be discussed instantaneously rather than with a delay (Wardecker et al., 2016).
Lagged Relationships Between Communication Modes and Stress
To examine directionality, the exploratory results using lagged analyses revealed that higher previous-day text messaging was related to higher stress exposure on the subsequent day. Furthermore, higher previous-day stress exposure was related to less telephone calling on the subsequent day. These findings are consistent with past studies and the CFO theory, which suggest that the lack of nonverbal, verbal, physical, and social cues in text-based CMC can more easily induce misinterpretation in one's message, whereas communicating with voice can better allow one to accurately express oneself and assess the receiver's reaction (Derks et al., 2008; Holtzman et al., 2017; Tsujita & Rekimoto, 2011). Text-based CMC can provide a way of communicating with others in an efficient and timely manner, but it is important to note that using text-based CMC frequently for social interactions with family and friends is associated with greater stress exposure on both the concurrent and subsequent day. Thus, text messaging is related to stress for adults of all ages, not only for adolescents and young adults, as previous studies have found.
Communication Modes and Affect
In contrast to past studies that often used between-person analyses, the present study examined daily usages of different communication modes in relation to daily measures of positive and negative affect. As predicted and consistent with the CFO theory, more frequent in-person communication days were associated with more positive affect. The present study also added to the mixed findings on communication modes and negative affect. Higher text messaging days were associated with more negative affect. On the other hand, more telephone calling was associated with less same-day negative affect, suggesting that it is a good substitute when in-person communication is not possible. Even though CMC provides a simple way to communicate, it is in-person and telephone calling modes of communication that are associated with positive well-being. This study highlighted the benefits of in-person and telephone calling with the people within one's social network and the negative affect associated with the use of CMC for communication.
Contrary to the predictions, internet communication was not associated with same-day positive and negative affect. This could be because the aggregated term "internet" (not including video chat) used in the current study encompassed many different platforms (e.g., Facebook, instant messaging, and email). However, each platform differs in the feedback system. For example, email is asynchronous in nature because one may not know the real-time "presence" of the receiver, and the time it takes for the receiver to get back to the sender is unknown. On the other hand, instant messaging can be synchronous because the sender can see whether others are online or typing, and the sender can expect an immediate real-time response from the other party, which can have an instant impact on one's mood (Sánchez et al., 2005). Future studies can consider separating each communication mode based on its synchronous and asynchronous nature, as that could impact positive and negative affect differently.
This study had a relatively small sample size (N = 145) and participants were drawn from a convenience sample, mainly based in one metropolitan area, which could lead to questions of generalizability. We did not have information about how close the participants lived to their family and friends, and distance is likely to be related to frequency and type of communication. Even though lagged analyses were examined, the directionality or causality is still inconclusive. In addition, this study had limited diversity in terms of race and ethnicity, which could influence the frequency and impact of interactions as well as generalizability. Also, differences in culture should be taken into consideration when studying social interactions and health outcomes such as stress and affect.
There could be self-reported biases for the frequency of daily interactions. Nevertheless, a number of other studies also used a similar self-report approach to measure the frequency of different communication modes (e.g., social media, phone, and in-person) (Chan, 2015; Chen & Li, 2017; Gerson et al., 2017; Kim & Kim, 2017; Li & Peng, 2019; Wardecker et al., 2016). The literature on time use and diary studies provides additional support for our method. Our study used a daily diary and assessed communication information at the end of each day, which can minimize memory biases because of the proximity in time of the recalled experience and frequency of usage (Bolger et al., 2003). Unlike longer-term self-reported surveys, that ask for a participant's time usage and experience retrospectively (e.g., over the past month or year), which can lead to greater inaccuracies in recall, the daily diary method shows a better match with an individual's actual experiences and time usage by minimizing the amount of time elapsed between experiences and the account of such experiences (Belli, 1998; Freedman et al., 2014; Kahneman et al., 2004). Both objective events and subjective feelings are less susceptible to recall biases if asked at the end of the day or even the next day in comparison with longer-term retrospective recall (Redelmeier & Kahneman, 1996). Thus, the usage of the daily diary in our study is expected to provide a reasonably accurate representation of the daily frequency of different forms of communication. Nonetheless, future studies should consider using objective log data of social media usage to further examine the extent that the findings could be influenced by participants' subjective memories, as subjective reports have been found to overstate the relationship between screen time and mental health (Shaw et al., 2020).
Besides the frequency of social interactions via different communication modes, it would be interesting to consider in future studies whether the interactions were positive or negative, as the valence of the interaction could be related to stress and affect. For example, an interaction involving an argument would be more stressful than a more pleasant conversation. Moreover, it would be helpful to know the communication mode involved in each stressful event. Given the nature of the questions, the study could only examine cumulative daily stress, but not specifically who contributed to the participant's daily stress or whether the stressful event occurred before or after an instance of social interaction. In addition, because so few (3.8%) of the participants in our sample used video chat, we did not include it in the present study. It would be of interest in the future to examine video chat usage, which includes social, physical, visual, and verbal cues, to see if it is more beneficial for reducing stress and negative affect than other modes that do not include both cues.
This study focused only on family and friends. It would be interesting to see whether interacting with other people (strangers, support groups, physicians/therapists/therapists, community members, and coworkers) rather than just family and friends influences stress and affect the same way. Furthermore, the data for this study were collected in the 2013–2014 period. Older adults were less likely to use text messages and the internet, although 80% of the older adults, 65 and older (N = 35), reported they used the internet regularly, and 88.6% used a cellphone. However, out of the older adults who used a cellphone, only 13% used text messages, and we do not know whether the cellphone they used was a smartphone. According to the (Pew Research Center, 2017b), ownership of smartphones for seniors ages 65 and older doubled from 18% to 42% since 2013. Thus, it will be important to collect new data to catch up with this growing trend. As young and middle-aged groups more consistently use CMC continue to develop into later adulthood, it is imperative to launch longitudinal studies for a more extended period to explore how the use of CMC in their daily lives could affect their stress and positive and negative affect longitudinally.
Implications and Conclusion
The study addresses whether social interactions with friends and family members via different communication modes are associated with well-being on a daily basis. With the increased availability of social applications and platforms that enable ease of connection with one's family and friends, the findings suggest that while these platforms can help maintain connections, in-person communication still plays an important role in one's positive affect. However, in-person communication is not always available or desired, whether due to distance or encouraged social distancing due to external factors like the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study suggests that on days with more telephone calling, individuals had less negative affect, which may be beneficial when in-person communication is not an option. Moreover, given the increase in technology and CMC usage in midlife and older adults, it is essential to understand how such daily communication style can contribute to their well-being and whether the different available communication modes can interfere or replace in-person communication for adults of all ages.
Revision received October 30, 2020
Accepted November 03, 2020