Fun Versus Meaningful Video Game Experiences: A Qualitative Analysis of User Responses

Emerging research on video games has suggested that feelings of both enjoyment and meaningfulness can be elicited from gameplay. Studies have shown enjoyment and meaningfulness evaluations to be associated with discrete elements of video games (ratings of gameplay and narrative, respectively), but have relied on closed-end data analysis. The current study analyzed participants’ open-ended reviews of either their “most fun” or “most meaningful” video game experience (N = 575, randomly assigned to either condition). Results demonstrated that “fun” games were explained in terms of gameplay mechanics, and “meaningful” games were explained in terms of connections with players and in-game characters

Video games as meaningful entertainment experiences

We conducted an experiment to examine individuals’ perceptions of enjoyable and meaningful video games and the game characteristics and dimensions of need satisfaction associated with enjoyment and appreciation. Participants (N = 512) were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups that asked them to recall a game that they found either particularly fun or particularly meaningful, and to then rate their perceptions of the game that they recalled. Enjoyment was high for both groups, though appreciation was higher in the meaningful- than fun-game condition. Further, enjoyment was most strongly associated with gameplay characteristics and satisfaction of needs related to competency and autonomy, whereas appreciation was most strongly associated with story characteristics and satisfaction of needs related to insight and relatedness

HadISD: a quality-controlled global synoptic report database for selected variables at long-term stations from 1973--2011

[Abridged] This paper describes the creation of HadISD: an automatically quality-controlled synoptic resolution dataset of temperature, dewpoint temperature, sea-level pressure, wind speed, wind direction and cloud cover from global weather stations for 1973--2011. The full dataset consists of over 6000 stations, with 3427 long-term stations deemed to have sufficient sampling and quality for climate applications requiring sub-daily resolution. As with other surface datasets, coverage is heavily skewed towards Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes. The dataset is constructed from a large pre-existing ASCII flatfile data bank that represents over a decade of substantial effort at data retrieval, reformatting and provision. These raw data have had varying levels of quality control applied to them by individual data providers. The work proceeded in several steps: merging stations with multiple reporting identifiers; reformatting to netCDF; quality control; and then filtering to form a final dataset. Particular attention has been paid to maintaining true extreme values where possible within an automated, objective process. Detailed validation has been performed on a subset of global stations and also on UK data using known extreme events to help finalise the QC tests. Further validation was performed on a selection of extreme events world-wide (Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the cold snap in Alaska in 1989 and heat waves in SE Australia in 2009). Although the filtering has removed the poorest station records, no attempt has been made to homogenise the data thus far. Hence non-climatic, time-varying errors may still exist in many of the individual station records and care is needed in inferring long-term trends from these data. A version-control system has been constructed for this dataset to allow for the clear documentation of any updates and corrections in the future.Comment: Published in Climate of the Past, www.clim-past.net/8/1649/2012/. 31 pages, 23 figures, 9 pages. For data see http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadis

Perturbation theory and the two-level approximation:A corollary and critique

This analysis addresses the use of a two-level approximation to simplify expressions derived from perturbation theory. It is shown that the limitations of validity for the emergent results are more stringent than is commonly understood, being equivalent in effect to the adoption of a more extensive approximation - one that significantly undermines the perturbative origin of those expressions. Effectively truncating the completeness relation, a series of interconnected operator relations comes into play, some with physically untenable consequences. A new theorem on the expectation values of operator functions highlights additional constraints upon any molecule modelled as a two-level system. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

The role of ECL2 in CGRP receptor activation: a combined modelling and experimental approach

The calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor is a complex of a calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CLR), which is a family B G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) and receptor activity modifying protein 1. The role of the second extracellular loop (ECL2) of CLR in binding CGRP and coupling to Gs was investigated using a combination of mutagenesis and modelling. An alanine scan of residues 271–294 of CLR showed that the ability of CGRP to produce cAMP was impaired by point mutations at 13 residues; most of these also impaired the response to adrenomedullin (AM). These data were used to select probable ECL2-modelled conformations that are involved in agonist binding, allowing the identification of the likely contacts between the peptide and receptor. The implications of the most likely structures for receptor activation are discussed.</jats:p

On the conveyance of angular momentum in electronic energy transfer

When electronic excitation transfer occurs, it is of considerable interest to establish whether angular momentum can also be conveyed in the process. The question is prompted by a consideration that when the participating chromophores are atoms, ions, or molecular systems having high local symmetry, the electronic excited states that are involved are generally characterized not only by energy, but by angular momentum properties. Moreover, it is known that electron spin can be communicated between quantum dot exciton states. Resolving the general issue entails an electrodynamic representation exploiting irreducible tensor methods, the analysis being illustrated by application to energy transfer associated with a variety of multipolar transitions. The results exhibit novel connections between an angular momentum content of the electromagnetic coupling and a strongly varying distance dependence. It is concluded that the communication of angular momentum does not in general map unambiguously between a donor and energy acceptor

The Epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus and Panton-Valentine Leucocidin (pvl) in Central Australia, 2006-2010

Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.Background: The Central Australian Indigenous population has a high incidence of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) but little is known about the local molecular epidemiology. Methods: Prospective observational study of bacteremic and nasal colonizing S.aureus isolates between June 2006 to June 2010. All isolates underwent single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping and testing for the presence of the Panton-Valentine Leucocidin (pvl) gene. Results: Invasive isolates (n = 97) were predominantly ST93 (26.6 %) and pvl positive (54.3 %), which was associated with skin and soft tissue infections (OR 4.35, 95 % CI 1.16, 16.31). Non-multiresistant MRSA accounted for 31.9 % of bacteremic samples and showed a trend to being healthcare associated (OR 2.16, 95 % CI 0.86, 5.40). Non-invasive isolates (n = 54) were rarely ST93 (1.9 %) or pvl positive (7.4 %). Conclusions: In Central Australia, ST93 was the dominant S.aureus clone, and was frequently pvl positive and associated with an aggressive clinical phenotype. Whether non-nasal carriage is more important with invasive clones or whether colonization occurs only transiently remains to be elucidated

Optimising Resources to Develop a Strategic Approach to Open Access - final report

Our Open Access (OA) Pathfinder, a collaboration between the University of Northumbria and the University of Sunderland, aimed to develop and share tools and best practice to enable HEIs with limited external resources to effectively and creatively respond to the challenges and opportunities presented by OA. To achieve this we identified four discrete project objectives and a methodology which emphasised engagement locally and with the other HEI’s that comprised the wider programme. Importantly, the wider context of this focus was our recognition of the global movement towards open research and an impact agenda which demonstrates and rewards value for money from public investment. Subsequently, throughout our project activity we aimed to explore and develop extensible models, policies and procedures which go beyond OA compliance to engage with and shape these wider debates. Throughout the programme we disseminated our preliminary findings and ongoing thinking via our project blog (http://oapathfinder.wordpress.com) as well as fora including conferences and workshops. By the end of the two year programme, our project had successfully delivered against the four objectives and in so doing demonstrated tangible impact. Crucially, for each aspect of our project further work is needed to refine and develop solutions and practice to meet the challenges and opportunities presented by OA. We believe that against a background of a rapidly evolving policy and funding landscape JISC are uniquely positioned to facilitate a community of practice to play a pivotal role in making this happen