Can a Fit Video Game Avatar Make You Healthier?

Time to reconsider the stereotype of doughy, fast food-guzzling online role players in dark basements. Strongly identifying with your avatar in virtual video game worlds like “Second Life” could actually help make you healthier in the real world, research from the University of Missouri shows.

Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz surveyed 249 “Second Life” users to study how avatars — their customized virtual characters in games — affect real-world existence. She found that the amount of self presence, or identifying with a virtual representation, predicted the amount of influence an avatar had on a person’s life in the physical world. A strong sense of self-presence improved how they felt about themselves and promoted better health and well-being.  

In the study, published in the journal ”Computers in Human Behavior,” Behm-Morawitz wrote, “The avatar links the virtual to the physical body, and, through this interplay of one’s online and offline identities, the virtual may become meaningful to the physical body and self.”

For example, for people looking to lose weight, creating a fitter avatar helped them visualize being in better shape.   

Curiously, the participants weren’t specifically using “Second Life” as a fitness tool, as they might with, say, a Wii Fit game. “‘Second Life’ is a social virtual world, where play is open-ended and not specifically designed to be used as a motivational health tool,” Behm-Morawitz told TechNewsDaily in an email. “However, the findings … suggest that a person who is motivated to participate in a virtual world for social reasons is more likely to experience effects of the avatar.”

In other words, if you are into the game enough to care about how you come across online, that will motivate you to make a better impression offline, too.

[See Also: Rats Control Human Avatars]

Behm-Morawitz says the results should not be limited to “Second Life” — other virtual worlds could show the same kinds of benefits. However, virtual worlds that offer the most control over avatar design and interaction will best foster self-presence and prompt healthy behavior change.

Avatars are useful for trying on a new appearance, Behm-Morawitz said, since they pose little risk to the creator.  

Though it may seem like a throwback to the early 2000s, “Second Life” remains one of the most popular online games. In July 2012, Nielsen rated it among the top 10 PC games.  

Other studies support the new research. In an Indiana University study published in September, more people adopted healthy habits when they went through weight-loss programs delivered in a 3D virtual world than those who pursued a program in a traditional health club.  

This story was provided by TechNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow TechNewsDaily on Twitter @TechNewsDaily. We’re also on Facebook & Google+.

Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Taylor Swift to headline “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve”

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Country-pop star Taylor Swift will ring in the New Year in the United States as the headline act on TV special “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” which will feature a two-hour tribute to late host Dick Clark, organizers said on Friday.

Swift, whose new album “Red” racked up more than 1 million copies in first week U.S. sales, will perform live in New York’s Times Square on December 31, just before the ball drops to bring in 2013.

The New Year’s Eve music special for ABC television was hosted for four decades by legendary TV and music producer Clark before his death in April at age 82.

This year the show will be helmed again by Clark’s recent co-host – “American Idol” host and radio DJ Ryan Seacrest – under the title “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest,” ABC and dick clark productions said.

The evening will kick off with a two-hour tribute to the host of TV dance show “American Bandstand” that will feature clips of Clark’s long career, and remembrances by musicians and industry celebrities.

The 5-1/2 hour show will also feature other musical guests, yet to be announced, and report on New Year celebrations around the globe.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Eric Walsh)

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California teen steps into rattlesnake nest, survives

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) – A teenage California girl searching for a cell phone signal to call her mother in a rural area outside San Diego inadvertently stepped into a nest of rattlesnakes and was bitten six times, but survived.

The 16-year-old, Vera Oliphant, spent four days in the intensive care unit of Sharp Grossmont Hospital, and doctors gave her 24 vials of antivenom after she was bitten by an adult rattlesnake and five young rattlers outside her uncle’s home.

“I was trying to find a signal to call my mom and text my boyfriend,” Oliphant said on Friday, a day after she was released from the hospital following the October 27 incident.

“I didn’t see them until I already stepped on their nest and I felt them biting me.”

“My vision started to go right away. First it looked like the snakes blended into the leaves and then I started seeing black spots around the edges and I started blacking out.”

She returned to her uncle’s home in Jamul, outside San Diego, and he immediately packed her into the car and rushed her to the emergency room, she said.

On the way, she talked to her mom and her boyfriend, who told her to stay calm so the venom wouldn’t spread.

“I told my mom and my boyfriend I love them in case I don’t get to see them again,” she said.

Doctors there administered 24 vials of antivenom to quash the dangerous toxins, according to a hospital spokesman. Snakebites usually aren’t fatal, although a handful of people die in the United States each year from snake bites, including bites from rattlesnakes.

Oliphant has recovered and will be returning to classes at Chaparral High School in El Cajon on Monday. She said the next time she can’t get a signal, she will handle it differently.

“Be careful where you step,” she said. “If you don’t need to, just wait until you are somewhere that you can call people.”

(Editing By Cynthia Johnston and Todd Eastham)

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China exports accelerate in October, imports weak

BEIJING (AP) — China‘s export growth accelerated in October in a fresh sign the world’s second-largest economy is recovering from a painful slump, but the commerce minister warned that exporters face tough conditions in coming months.

Exports rose 11.6 percent from a year earlier, up from the previous month’s 9.9 percent rate, data showed Saturday. Import growth held steady at 2.4 percent.

The improvement is a positive sign for the ruling Communist Party, which is holding a congress to hand power to younger leaders who might benefit from an economic uptick.

Still, the commerce minister warned that Chinese exporters face tough conditions ahead due to weak global demand and rising operating costs.

“The trade situation will be relatively grim in the next few months and there will be many difficulties next year,” Chen Deming told a news conference.

Analysts say a modest recovery is under way from China’s deepest downturn since the 2008 world financial crisis. But they say it will be gradual and too weak to drive global growth without improvement in the United States and Europe.

Data reported Friday showed Chinese auto sales, factory output and investment also improved in October.

Stronger exports will help manufacturers that were battered by last year’s slump in global demand. Thousands closed and survivors slashed payrolls, raising the danger of unrest as Communist leaders tried to enforce calm ahead of the leadership transition.

The import weakness meant China’s global trade surplus widened by nearly 90 percent over a year ago to $ 32 billion — the highest monthly level this year.

Chen, the commerce minister, also warned that “growing trade protectionism” might hurt exporters.

World leaders pledged after the 2008 crisis to avoid steps that might hinder trade and hamper a recovery. But Beijing and trading partners including the United States, Europe and Japan have raised tariffs on goods including autos and solar panels in a series of disputes over market access, subsidies and other issues.

Beijing set a target of 10 percent trade growth this year, but it looks increasingly unlikely the country can reach that after total trade rose only about 6 percent for the first 10 months.

Lackluster Chinese import demand reflects government curbs on lending and investment to cool inflation and overheating.

Those controls helped to crush surging prices but hurt China’s large construction industry and depressed its voracious appetite for steel beams, wiring and other materials made of imported iron ore, copper and other commodities. That is bad news for miners and other commodity exporters such as Australia and Brazil that supply China.

China’s economic growth fell to a three-and-a-half-year low of 7.4 percent in the quarter ending in September. Analysts say the slowdown probably has reached its bottom and activity should improve in the current quarter.

The government said last month it saw “steady economic growth,” suggesting there was no need for further major stimulus following interest rate cuts and higher spending on public works construction and investment by state companies.

Demand in debt-plagued Europe was so weak that the 27-nation European Union was temporarily overtaken by the United States as China’s biggest trading partner for October.

Exports to the United States rose 9.5 percent to $ 31.2 billion. China’s trade surplus with the U.S. widened by 8 percent to $ 21.6 billion.

Exports to Europe fell 5.8 percent to $ 26.4 billion, with more severe declines for some struggling economies. Italy‘s purchases of Chinese goods plunged 25.7 percent while exports to France were off 9 percent. China’s trade surplus with Europe narrowed by 17 percent to $ 10.8 billion.

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Online:

General Administration of Customs of China (in Chinese): www.customs.gov.cn

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Syria opposition bloc elects Christian as leader

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Syria‘s main opposition group in exile has elected a Christian Paris-based former geography teacher as its new president.

George Sabra said Friday that his election as head of the Syrian National Council is a sign that the opposition is not plagued by sectarian divisions.

Sabra says the SNC‘s main demand is to receive weapons from the international community. The U.S. and some other foreign backers of rebels fighting the regime of President Bashar Assad have so far refused to send weapons for fear they can fall into the wrong hands.

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Dancing With The Stars Family Rallies On Twitter In Support Of Brooke Burke-Charvet Following Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis

Members of the “Dancing with the Stars” family Tweeted their well-wishes for the show’s co-host, Brooke Burke-Charvet, who revealed on Thursday she has thyroid cancer.

Helio Castroneves, who was recently eliminated from the “All-Stars” season, said he is confident she will overcome the disease.

PLAY IT NOW: Brooke Burke-Charvet’s Sexy Lingerie Shoot!

“Hi @brookeburke, I have sure that you will win this battle. My affection for you,” the Indy driver wrote.

Brooke revealed on Thursday that she will be undergoing thyroid surgery and a thyroidectomy, and Erin Andrews, who competed in Season 10, noted she was praying for the host.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: The Lovely Brooke Burke-Charvet

“Thinking about @DancingABC friend @brookeburke..Prayers and all the best your way Brooke,” Erin wrote.

Also sending her kind words was Sabrina Bryan, who was eliminated last week on the show.

“@brookeburke hey girl!! You’re in my thoughts and prayers! Always here for you during this fight! Stay strong,” Sabrina wrote.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Dancing With The Stars: All-Stars — Week 6

Season 13 vet Ricki Lake wrote, “@brookeburke sending huge healing love your way.”

Current contender Melissa Rycroft shared her support, Tweeting, “You’re such a strong woman, and I admire your courage. I hope you feel all the love and support behind you…We love you!”

VIEW THE PHOTOS: ‘Dancing’s’ Derek Hough

And some of the professional dancers chimed in too.

Pro Derek Hough (Brooke’s Season 7 partner) Tweeted, “Love you Brookie B. [You're] in my prayers.”

Cheryl Burke Tweeted, “I love u @brookeburke!! Stay strong. Will be praying for u and sending u lots of positive energy!”

– Jolie Lash

Copyright 2012 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Lagerfeld says Ghesquiere with Arnault “not bad idea”

PARIS (Reuters) – Star designer Karl Lagerfeld said the departure of Nicolas Ghesquiere from Balenciaga as artistic director to create his own brand with backing from LVMH‘s Bernard Arnault would “not be a bad idea” as the group owned many old labels.

“Perhaps Nicolas wants to have his own label, which is not a bad idea,” Lagerfeld told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.

“And it would not be a bad idea if somebody such as Bernard Arnault would invest in a new label because there are so many old labels (within the LVMH group),” Lagerfeld said about the chief executive of the world’s biggest luxury group.

PPR, the French group which owns Balenciaga, shocked the fashion world by announcing this week the departure of Ghesquiere, who had been with the brand since 1997 and was the main architect of its revival.

The International Herald Tribune reported this week that one option for Ghesquiere was to create his own brand with the backing of Arnault, who controls LVMH, the world’s biggest luxury group, which owns many fashion brands including Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Celine.

Founded by Cristobal Balenciaga in 1919, his eponymous brand thrived until the late 1960s and then lay dormant until Ghesquiere took over as designer. The brand started to expand worldwide after PPR acquired it in 2001.

Balenciaga did not explain Ghesquiere’s departure clearly when it made the announcement on Monday but it suggested the designer was longing for a new creative adventure.

Lagerfeld, who runs his own brand on top of working as artistic director for LVMH’s Fendi and for privately owned Chanel, said he could not think about the succession.

“We (my team and I) only think in terms of one collection after the next collection,” he said. “In fashion, I am very much against projection in the far away future.”

Lagerfeld was speaking at the opening of an exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris of his photos of celebrities themed around Chanel’s “little black jacket,” who were styled by Carine Roitfeld, former editor of the French Vogue.

The celebrities include artist Yoko Ono, John Lennon’s widow, film maker Sofia Coppola and actresses Kirsten Dunst and Milla Jojovich.

“I am happy I can do both fashion and photography because there is a link between the two but it is a link which I refuse to analyze,” Lagerfeld said.

PAVLOVSKY

Also present at the exhibition’s opening was Bruno Pavlovsky, president of Chanel’s fashion division, who like Lagerfeld would not be drawn too long on the subject of the designer’s succession.

“Karl is in great shape, I work every day with him and I can assure you that he is doing very well,” Pavlovsky said, adding that relations between Chanel and him had always been excellent.

“Of course one day there will be an after-Karl but Karl will have made Chanel so strong, with such strong codes that Chanel will find solutions,” Pavlovsky said.

The executive said Chanel, owned by the Wertheimer family, was doing well overall and expected 2012 to be another “good year” in spite of the global downturn which has affected many of its rivals including LVMH, Burberry and Gucci owner PPR.

However, he said the Chinese market was becoming more mature with growth levels in big cities such as Shanghai or Beijing becoming similar to that of European capitals or New York where Chanel has been for decades.

“We are no longer in the 20-30 percent growth levels we had seen (in previous years in China),” he said. “It can be more than 10 percent,” he said, referring to growth levels in big European cities.

Pavlovsky said Chanel planned to finish the year with 10 boutiques in China and 182 globally.

(Reporting by Astrid Wendlandt; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

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Judge says Texas cannot ban family planning group from health program

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – A Texas judge ruled on Thursday that the state cannot ban Planned Parenthood, for now, from offering health care to low-income women through a state-run program even though some of the group’s family planning and health clinics perform abortions.

“This is another victory for the women in Texas,” Pete Schenkkan, a lawyer representing the group, told reporters after state District Judge Stephen Yelenosky said he would halt enforcement of the Texas law while Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit contesting the state ban proceeds.

Although the Texas health program does not pay for abortions, earlier this year the state decided to enforce a law that had been on the books for several years barring funding for abortion providers and affiliates.

Planned Parenthood said it does not provide abortions at clinics that participate in the Texas Women’s Health Program, but it is the nation’s leading reproductive health and abortion provider and the state objects to its affiliation with clinics that do provide abortions.

A state district judge last month issued a temporary order blocking the state from enforcing the ban. That order was set to expire Friday. Planned Parenthood argued in court on Thursday that the ban is invalid under state law.

The Obama administration told Texas this week that federal funding – which pays for most of the Women’s Health Program’s $ 40 million annual cost – will stop at the end of the year. The program provides care such as breast and cervical cancer screenings and birth control, and Planned Parenthood says it serves nearly half the 115,000 Texas women who participate.

“We cannot continue to provide full federal funding for a program that is not in compliance with federal law any longer than is necessary to minimize disruption in care to beneficiaries,” Cindy Mann of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services told Texas health officials in a letter on Wednesday.

In state district court in Austin on Thursday, Patricio Gonzales, chief executive of a Planned Parenthood affiliate in South Texas, testified that losing the funding would lead to the closure of two or three of his four clinics.

Mann told Texas officials: “It remains very important to us that the state complete its transition of the program before the end of the year to ensure there is not an abrupt end to services for beneficiaries.”

Governor Rick Perry has said that the Texas is ready to roll out a state-funded program.

Planned Parenthood sued in state court after a federal appeals court declined to reconsider a ruling allowing Texas to exclude it. Earlier this week, the family planning organization filed a motion asking for its federal lawsuit to be paused while it pursues the state case.

Perry said on Thursday Planned Parenthood’s efforts to bring suits in different courts were a “stalling tactic.”

“Venue shopping and courtroom sleight-of-hand in no way helps the women of Texas. We see their stalling tactic for what it is – yet another attempt to unashamedly defy the will of Texas voters and taxpayers.”

(Reporting by Corrie MacLaggan; Editing by Greg McCune and Jackie Frank)

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The Loneliness of David Cameron

Inside his 10 Downing Street office, David Cameron has surrounded himself with friends of two decades or more—contemporaries from his time at Eton and Oxford and his early days as a political researcher. Once he steps outside his front door, the 46-year-old prime minister’s life is lonelier. In Parliament lawmakers from his Conservative Party are rebelling in unprecedented numbers and with increasing frequency. Conservative newspapers, which once feted him, have turned hostile. If there were an election tomorrow, voters say they’d back the Labour Party, which enjoys a 10-point advantage in the polls.

Cameron’s signature policy—an austerity plan meant to wipe out the structural budget deficit by the 2015 election—has caused pain among voters and is certain to cause more. The government will have implemented £37 billion ($ 59.11 billion), less than a third of the £126 billion of cuts planned, by the end of the fiscal year. Welfare payments for housing have been capped, forcing some poor people to move out of expensive areas such as London. Pay has been frozen for police, teachers, nurses, doctors, and other public-sector workers.

The success of the austerity plan depended on the economy returning to a growth rate of 2.3 percent in 2011 and 2.8 percent in 2012. It didn’t; the economy is only now emerging from a double-dip recession. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research forecast on Nov. 2 that the economy in 2013 will be 5.3 percent smaller than forecast in 2010. The deficit-elimination target has been pushed back to the fiscal year ending April 2017. That means the government will go into the 2015 election promising further spending cuts and tax hikes.

On Oct. 31, Cameron suffered his first House of Commons defeat at the hands of his own party’s lawmakers on a vote over contributing to the European Union budget. In a vote designed to embarrass Cameron, Tory MPs wanted him to call for a cut in the budget. Cameron argued that calling for a budget freeze was more realistic. It was eight years before former Tony Blair lost a vote; it’s taken Cameron two. “On the specific issue of Europe, Conservatives in this Parliament are the most rebellious since dinosaurs ruled the earth,” says Philip Cowley, professor of politics at the University of Nottingham. “But it’s not just Europe. He’s retreated on a series of issues where he would have been defeated.”

The setback with the greatest impact may be Cameron’s abandonment of plans to introduce elections to the House of Lords. Although a popularly elected upper house has long been a cherished policy goal of his coalition allies, the Liberal Democrats, Cameron dropped the effort in the face of opposition from Tory traditionalists. In retaliation, the Liberal Democrats said they’d block a redrawing of electoral boundaries, which at the moment favor Labour. Evening up the sizes of districts would have helped the Conservatives win more seats, but Cameron will have to campaign in the next election with the same handicap that helped cost him a majority in 2010.

Cameron’s aloofness hurts his cause. Speaking of Parliament and its members, Cowley asks, “How often is he in the tea rooms? Does he talk to them in the corridors? The answer is no.”

According to Tim Bale, author of The Conservatives Since 1945, Cameron’s loyalty to his friends and his meteoric rise through his party to become leader at the age of 39 contribute to his alienation from other Tory lawmakers. “It’s admirable that he doesn’t let people go and move on, but that means other people think there’s no room for them in his circle,” Bale says. “If he’d spent 10 years in the lower reaches of the party, he might have had time to meet more people from different parts of the country and different backgrounds.”

Andy Coulson was one of the few who managed to get into the inner circle without having known the young Cameron. The working-class former editor of the News of the World, hired as Cameron’s press chief in 2007, quickly acquired trusted status. Coulson resigned from Downing Street at the beginning of 2011 as the hacking scandal at his former paper deepened. On the day his former aide was arrested, in July of that year, Cameron told reporters that Coulson “became a friend and is a friend.”

Cameron’s response to that scandal—to set up a media ethics inquiry—has angered Conservative-supporting papers. News Corp.’s (NWS) Sun newspaper supported the Conservatives in the 2010 election. Since the arrest of at least 10 of its journalists for alleged bribery, it has been hostile to Cameron, and in October it helped force the resignation of a member of Cameron’s cabinet, Andrew Mitchell, after he swore at a policeman guarding Downing Street.

A Populus survey in September found voters frequently describing Cameron as “out of touch” and “arrogant.” On the positive side, they were less likely to describe him as “out of his depth” than they were the leaders of Britain’s other two main parties. Nonetheless, the prime minister is holding fewer of the “Cameron Direct” town hall events that he did almost weekly when the Conservatives were in opposition and regularly in the early days of his premiership.

For all his problems, Cameron has one faithful friend: the bond market. Helped by the Bank of England’s debt purchase program, the yield on Britain’s 10-year bond is around 1.75 percent, a third that of Spanish debt. He also has two and a half years until the next election, and if the economy recovers his fortunes will improve.

Cameron’s options for now remain limited. The government can’t afford tax cuts. His Liberal Democrat coalition allies block anything he might do that would appeal to his party’s lawmakers and traditional supporters, such as tougher immigration laws. Conservative Party lawmakers have put Cameron on notice that they have the numbers and will to defy him if he softens his position on hot-button issues such as further integration with Europe. The prime minister needs a new strategy if he’s to widen his circle of friends.

The bottom line: Cameron still has to cut £89 million from the budget to eliminate the deficit. Voters and party members are getting restless.

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Myanmar says Obama to visit later this month

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — President Barack Obama will make a groundbreaking visit later this month to Myanmar, an official said Thursday, following through with his policy of rapprochement to encourage democracy in the Southeast Asian nation.

The Myanmar official speaking from the capital, Naypyitaw, said Thursday that security for a visit on Nov. 18 or 19 had been prepared, but the schedule was not final. He asked not to be named because he was not authorized to give information to the media.

The official said Obama would meet with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as well as government officials including reformist President Thein Sein.

It would be the first-ever visit to Myanmar by an American president. U.S. officials have not yet announced any plans for a visit, which would come less than two weeks after Obama’s election to a second term.

Obama’s administration has sought to encourage the recent democratic progress under Thein Sein by easing sanctions applied against Myanmar’s previous military regime.

Officials in nearby Thailand and Cambodia have already informally announced plans for visits by Obama that same week. Cambodia is hosting a summit meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and Thailand is a longtime close U.S. ally.

The visit to Myanmar, also known as Burma, would be the culmination of a dramatic turnaround in relations with Washington as the country has shifted from five decades of ruinous military rule and shaken off the pariah status it had earned through its bloody suppression of democracy.

Obama’s ending of the long-standing U.S. isolation of Myanmar’s generals has played a part in coaxing them into political reforms that have unfolded with surprising speed in the past year. The U.S. has appointed a full ambassador and suspended sanctions to reward Myanmar for political prisoner releases and the election of Nobel laureate Suu Kyi to parliament.

From Myanmar’s point of view, the lifting of sanctions is essential for boosting a lagging economy that was hurt not only by sanctions that curbed exports and foreign investment, but also by what had been a protectionist, centralized approach. Thein Sein’s government has initiated major economic reforms in addition to political ones.

A procession of senior diplomats and world leaders have traveled to Myanmar, stopping both in the remote, opulent capital city, which was built by the former ruling junta, and at Suu Kyi’s dilapidated lakeside villa in the main city of Yangon, where she spent 15 years under house arrest. New Zealand announced Thursday that Prime Minister John Key would visit Myanmar after attending the regional meetings in Cambodia.

The most senior U.S. official to visit was Hillary Rodham Clinton, who last December became the first U.S. secretary of state to travel to Myanmar in 56 years.

The Obama administration regards the political changes in Myanmar as a marquee achievement in its foreign policy, and one that could dilute the influence of China in a country that has a strategic location between South and Southeast Asia, regions of growing economic importance.

But exiled Myanmar activists and human rights groups are likely to criticize an Obama visit as premature, rewarding Thein Sein before his political and economic reforms have truly taken root. The military — still dominant and implicated in rights abuses — has failed to prevent vicious outbreaks of communal violence in the west of the country that have left scores dead.

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