Child-Centered Play Therapy in the Schools: Review and Meta-Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Ray, Dee C.; Armstrong, Stephen A.; Balkin, Richard S.; Jayne, Kimberly M.

2015-01-01

The authors conducted a meta-analysis and systematic review that examined 23 studies evaluating the effectiveness of child centered play therapy (CCPT) conducted in elementary schools. Meta-analysis results were explored using a random effects model for mean difference and mean gain effect size estimates. Results revealed statistically significant…

Information flow analysis of interactome networks.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrycja Vasilyev Missiuro

2009-04-01

Full Text Available Recent studies of cellular networks have revealed modular organizations of genes and proteins. For example, in interactome networks, a module refers to a group of interacting proteins that form molecular complexes and/or biochemical pathways and together mediate a biological process. However, it is still poorly understood how biological information is transmitted between different modules. We have developed information flow analysis, a new computational approach that identifies proteins central to the transmission of biological information throughout the network. In the information flow analysis, we represent an interactome network as an electrical circuit, where interactions are modeled as resistors and proteins as interconnecting junctions. Construing the propagation of biological signals as flow of electrical current, our method calculates an information flow score for every protein. Unlike previous metrics of network centrality such as degree or betweenness that only consider topological features, our approach incorporates confidence scores of protein-protein interactions and automatically considers all possible paths in a network when evaluating the importance of each protein. We apply our method to the interactome networks of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Caenorhabditis elegans. We find that the likelihood of observing lethality and pleiotropy when a protein is eliminated is positively correlated with the protein's information flow score. Even among proteins of low degree or low betweenness, high information scores serve as a strong predictor of loss-of-function lethality or pleiotropy. The correlation between information flow scores and phenotypes supports our hypothesis that the proteins of high information flow reside in central positions in interactome networks. We also show that the ranks of information flow scores are more consistent than that of betweenness when a large amount of noisy data is added to an interactome. Finally, we

All-Source Information Acquisition and Analysis in the IAEA Department of Safeguards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferguson, Matthew; Norman, Claude

2010-01-01

All source information analysis enables proactive implementation of in-field verification activities, supports the State Evaluation process, and is essential to the IAEA's strengthened safeguards system. Information sources include State-declared nuclear material accounting and facility design information; voluntarily supplied information such as nuclear procurement data; commercial satellite imagery; open source information and information/results from design information verifications (DIVs), inspections and complementary accesses (CAs). The analysis of disparate information sources directly supports inspections, design information verifications and complementary access, and enables both more reliable cross-examination for consistency and completeness as well as in-depth investigation of possible safeguards compliance issues. Comparison of State-declared information against information on illicit nuclear procurement networks, possible trafficking in nuclear materials, and scientific and technical information on nuclear-related research and development programmes, provides complementary measures for monitoring nuclear developments and increases Agency capabilities to detect possible undeclared nuclear activities. Likewise, expert analysis of commercial satellite imagery plays a critical role for monitoring un-safeguarded sites and facilities. In sum, the combination of these measures provides early identification of possible undeclared nuclear material or activities, thus enhancing deterrence of safeguards system that is fully information driven, and increasing confidence in Safeguards conclusions. By increasing confidence that nuclear materials and technologies in States under Safeguards are used solely for peaceful purposes, information-driven safeguards will strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation system. Key assets for Agency collection, processing, expert analysis, and integration of these information sources are the Information Collection and Analysis

Scientific Information Analysis of Chemistry Dissertations Using Thesaurus of Chemistry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taghi Rajabi

2017-09-01

Full Text Available : Concept maps of chemistry can be obtained from thesaurus of chemistry. Analysis of information in the field of chemistry is done at graduate level, based on comparing and analyzing chemistry dissertations by using these maps. Therefore, the use of thesaurus for analyzing scientific information is recommended. Major advantage of using this method, is that it is possible to obtain a detailed map of all academic researches across all branches of science. The researches analysis results in chemical science can play a key role in developing strategic research policies, educational programming, linking universities to industries and postgraduate educational programming. This paper will first introduce the concept maps of chemistry. Then, emerging patterns from the concept maps of chemistry will be used to analyze the trend in the academic dissertations in chemistry, using the data collected and stored in our database at Iranian Research Institute for Information Science and Technology (IranDoc over the past 10 years (1998-2009.

Agricultural information dissemination using ICTs: A review and analysis of information dissemination models in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yun Zhang

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Over the last three decades, China’s agriculture sector has been transformed from the traditional to modern practice through the effective deployment of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs. Information processing and dissemination have played a critical role in this transformation process. Many studies in relation to agriculture information services have been conducted in China, but few of them have attempted to provide a comprehensive review and analysis of different information dissemination models and their applications. This paper aims to review and identify the ICT based information dissemination models in China and to share the knowledge and experience in applying emerging ICTs in disseminating agriculture information to farmers and farm communities to improve productivity and economic, social and environmental sustainability. The paper reviews and analyzes the development stages of China’s agricultural information dissemination systems and different mechanisms for agricultural information service development and operations. Seven ICT-based information dissemination models are identified and discussed. Success cases are presented. The findings provide a useful direction for researchers and practitioners in developing future ICT based information dissemination systems. It is hoped that this paper will also help other developing countries to learn from China’s experience and best practice in their endeavor of applying emerging ICTs in agriculture information dissemination and knowledge transfer.

Snake River Plain Play Fairway Analysis – Phase 1 Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shervais, John W. [Utah State Univ., Logan, UT (United States). Dept. of Geology; Glen, Jonathan M. [US Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA (United States); Liberty, Lee M. [Boise State Univ., ID (United States). Center for Geophysical Investigation of the Shallow Subsurface; Dobson, Patrick [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Gasperikova, Erika [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2015-09-01

The Snake River volcanic province (SRP) overlies a thermal anomaly that extends deep into the mantle; it represents one of the highest heat flow provinces in North America. Our goals for this Phase 1 study are to: (1) adapt the methodology of Play Fairway Analysis for geothermal exploration to create a formal basis for its application to geothermal systems, (2) assemble relevant data for the SRP from publicly available and private sources, and (3) build a geothermal play fairway model for the SRP and identify the most promising plays, using software tools that are standard in the petroleum industry. The success of play fairway analysis in geothermal exploration depends critically on defining a systematic methodology that is grounded in theory (as developed within the petroleum industry over the last two decades) and within the geologic and hydrologic framework of real geothermal systems. Our preliminary assessment of the data suggests that important undiscovered geothermal resources may be located in several areas of the SRP, including the western SRP (associated with buried lineaments defined by gravity or magnetic anomalies, and capped by extensive deposits of lacustrine sediment), at lineament intersections in the central SRP (along the Banbury-Hagerman trend NW of Twin Falls, and along the northern margin of the Mt Bennett Hills-Camas Prairie area), and along the margins of the eastern SRP. Additional high temperature resources are likely associated with rhyolite domes and crypto-domes in the eastern SRP, but are masked by shallow groundwater flow leading to low upper crustal heat flow values. These blind resources may be exploitable with existing deep drilling technology. Groundwater modeling planned for later phases of the PFA project will address whether temperatures at viable producing depths are sufficient to support electricity production.

A Distributed Flocking Approach for Information Stream Clustering Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cui, Xiaohui [ORNL; Potok, Thomas E [ORNL

2006-01-01

Intelligence analysts are currently overwhelmed with the amount of information streams generated everyday. There is a lack of comprehensive tool that can real-time analyze the information streams. Document clustering analysis plays an important role in improving the accuracy of information retrieval. However, most clustering technologies can only be applied for analyzing the static document collection because they normally require a large amount of computation resource and long time to get accurate result. It is very difficult to cluster a dynamic changed text information streams on an individual computer. Our early research has resulted in a dynamic reactive flock clustering algorithm which can continually refine the clustering result and quickly react to the change of document contents. This character makes the algorithm suitable for cluster analyzing dynamic changed document information, such as text information stream. Because of the decentralized character of this algorithm, a distributed approach is a very natural way to increase the clustering speed of the algorithm. In this paper, we present a distributed multi-agent flocking approach for the text information stream clustering and discuss the decentralized architectures and communication schemes for load balance and status information synchronization in this approach.

Informing Active Play and Screen Time Behaviour Change Interventions for Low Socioeconomic Position Mothers of Young Children: What Do Mothers Want?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katherine L. Downing

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. This study investigated views of mothers from disadvantaged urban and regional areas (i.e., beyond major capital cities as potential end users of child active play and screen time behaviour change interventions, with a focus on text messaging and web-based delivery platforms. Methods. Thirty-two mothers (22 urban; 10 regional were interviewed. Purpose-designed questions covered topics regarding mothers’ preferences for accessing and receiving information related to parenting and child active play and screen time. Data from transcribed interviews were analysed to identify responses and key themes. Results. Mothers reported frequently accessing parenting- and child-related information online. Regional mothers reported seeking information by talking with other people less frequently than urban mothers and seemed to have a stronger preference for receiving information online. There were few differences between responses from low and high educated mothers. The majority of mothers reported that they would be happy to receive text messages containing information about active play and screen time and that they would find a dedicated website with this information useful. Conclusions. Mothers in this study held favourable views on the potential of receiving information via new communication technologies. Future interventions targeting socioeconomically disadvantaged mothers may benefit from delivering intervention messages via these technologies.

Playing on the edge

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cermak-Sassenrath, Daniel

2018-01-01

and specific ways. For instance, gambling for money, party and drinking games, professional play and show sports, art installations, violent and military propaganda computer games, pervasive/mobile gaming, live-action role playing, festivals, performances, and games such as Ghosting and Planking. It is argued......Everything gets more interesting, challenging, or intense the closer it gets to the edge, and so does play. How edgy can play become and still be play? Based on Huizinga’s notion of play, this chapter discusses how a wide range of playful activities pushes the boundaries of play in different...... that in concert with a number of characteristics that mark an activity as play, play is essentially a subjective perspective and individual decision of the player. Huizinga calls this attitude the play spirit, which informs a player’s actions and is in turn sustained by them. Edgy digital or mobile games do...

A Quantitative Content Analysis of Leveled Vocabulary Embedded within Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs)

Science.gov (United States)

Haas, Leslie

2012-01-01

This content analysis examined levels of vocabulary within massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). A total of six MMORPGs were studied; three were pay-to-play (P2P), and three were free-to-play (F2P). Sixty hours of game play (10 hours per game) provided the researcher with 50,240 embedded vocabulary words. Each MMORPG was…

Playing with social identities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Winther-Lindqvist, Ditte Alexandra

2013-01-01

as pretence, children’s play is understood as an activity involving rules of the social order (roles and positions) as well as identification processes (imagined situations). The theoretical argumentation builds on empirical examples obtained in two different Danish day-care centres. The chapter is informed...... by ethnographic observations and draws on illustrative examples with symbolic group play as well as game-play with rules (soccer) among 5 year old boys. Findings suggest that day-care children’s play, involves negotiation of roles, positioning and identification, and rules – and that these negotiations......This chapter offers support for Vygotsky’s claim that all play involves both an imagined situation as well as rules. Synthesising Schousboe’s comprehensive model of spheres of realities in playing (see Chapter 1, this volume) with Lev Vygotskys insight that all playing involve rules as well...

Analysis of context dependence in social interaction networks of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

Science.gov (United States)

Son, Seokshin; Kang, Ah Reum; Kim, Hyun-chul; Kwon, Taekyoung; Park, Juyong; Kim, Huy Kang

2012-01-01

Rapid advances in modern computing and information technology have enabled millions of people to interact online via various social network and gaming services. The widespread adoption of such online services have made possible analysis of large-scale archival data containing detailed human interactions, presenting a very promising opportunity to understand the rich and complex human behavior. In collaboration with a leading global provider of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs), here we present a network science-based analysis of the interplay between distinct types of user interaction networks in the virtual world. We find that their properties depend critically on the nature of the context-interdependence of the interactions, highlighting the complex and multilayered nature of human interactions, a robust understanding of which we believe may prove instrumental in the designing of more realistic future virtual arenas as well as provide novel insights to the science of collective human behavior.

Analysing playing using the note-time playing path.

Science.gov (United States)

de Graaff, Deborah L E; Schubert, Emery

2011-03-01

This article introduces a new method of data analysis that represents the playing of written music as a graph. The method, inspired by Miklaszewski, charts low-level note timings from a sound recording of a single-line instrument using high-precision audio-to-MIDI conversion software. Note onset times of pitch sequences are then plotted against the score-predicted timings to produce a Note-Time Playing Path (NTPP). The score-predicted onset time of each sequentially performed note (horizontal axis) unfolds in performed time down the page (vertical axis). NTPPs provide a visualisation that shows (1) tempo variations, (2) repetitive practice behaviours, (3) segmenting of material, (4) precise note time positions, and (5) time spent on playing or not playing. The NTPP can provide significant new insights into behaviour and cognition of music performance and may also be used to complement established traditional approaches such as think-alouds, interviews, and video coding.

Analysis of Context Dependence in Social Interaction Networks of a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game

Science.gov (United States)

Son, Seokshin; Kang, Ah Reum; Kim, Hyun-chul; Kwon, Taekyoung; Park, Juyong; Kim, Huy Kang

2012-01-01

Rapid advances in modern computing and information technology have enabled millions of people to interact online via various social network and gaming services. The widespread adoption of such online services have made possible analysis of large-scale archival data containing detailed human interactions, presenting a very promising opportunity to understand the rich and complex human behavior. In collaboration with a leading global provider of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs), here we present a network science-based analysis of the interplay between distinct types of user interaction networks in the virtual world. We find that their properties depend critically on the nature of the context-interdependence of the interactions, highlighting the complex and multilayered nature of human interactions, a robust understanding of which we believe may prove instrumental in the designing of more realistic future virtual arenas as well as provide novel insights to the science of collective human behavior. PMID:22496771

Analysis of context dependence in social interaction networks of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seokshin Son

Full Text Available Rapid advances in modern computing and information technology have enabled millions of people to interact online via various social network and gaming services. The widespread adoption of such online services have made possible analysis of large-scale archival data containing detailed human interactions, presenting a very promising opportunity to understand the rich and complex human behavior. In collaboration with a leading global provider of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs, here we present a network science-based analysis of the interplay between distinct types of user interaction networks in the virtual world. We find that their properties depend critically on the nature of the context-interdependence of the interactions, highlighting the complex and multilayered nature of human interactions, a robust understanding of which we believe may prove instrumental in the designing of more realistic future virtual arenas as well as provide novel insights to the science of collective human behavior.

Comparative analysis of gameplay and players emotion in the most popular games from play store

Science.gov (United States)

Riwinoto; Mahfud, N.; Lumombo, L.

2018-03-01

The development of the android mobile operating system and the presence of Play Store services poses challenges for developers to produce exciting mobile games. Although publishing games in Play Store is not difficult, in fact developers have to face tough competition to make homemade games can become popular. This study analyzes the gameplay of three popular paid-free games in Play Store that can survive for a period of one year from the top 10 positions in October 2015- November 2016. Analysis performed on 8 elements of the game based on the definition of Fullerton and emotional expression analysis of respondents who appeared while playing the three choosen games. The analysis shows that scarce resources are the main attraction of all three games because they create conflicts, giving constraints and challenges to players. The multiplayer game has a pattern of results and the result makes the opponent become more negative than the player to win. While the single player game is analyzed has a pattern to make the player get positive to win. There are 3 basic emotions that most often appear that is joy, disgust and surprise. Multiplayer games tend to emphasize the emotions of joy players, while single player games tend to bring disgust emotions.

Qualitative and Quantitative Information Flow Analysis for Multi-threaded Programs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ngo, Minh Tri

2014-01-01

In today’s information-based society, guaranteeing information security plays an important role in all aspects of life: governments, military, companies, financial information systems, web-based services etc. With the existence of Internet, Google, and shared-information networks, it is easier than

Playing Against the Modern World? : Role-Playing Games in Late Modernity

OpenAIRE

Harding, Tobias

2010-01-01

Playing Reality is an anthology of articles on live role-playing, a new art from where the Nordic countries are at the front edge. This book covers a wide range of topics and genres, from practical advice, historical reviews and visions of possible futures to semiotic and philosophical analysis. They Show some of the diversity of participatory arts, and will thus be of interest for anyone in the fields of art, education or performance. It wouldn't be misleading to claim that live role-playing...

Qualitative and quantitative information flow analysis for multi-thread programs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ngo, Minh Tri

2014-01-01

In today's information-based society, guaranteeing information security plays an important role in all aspects of life: communication between citizens and governments, military, companies, financial information systems, web-based services etc. With the increasing popularity of computer systems with

Bringing in the Bard: Shakespearean Plays as Context for Instrumental Analysis Projects

Science.gov (United States)

Kloepper, Kathryn D.

2015-01-01

Scenes from the works of William Shakespeare were incorporated into individual and group projects for an upper-level chemistry class, instrumental analysis. Students read excerpts from different plays and then viewed a corresponding video clip from a stage or movie production. Guided-research assignments were developed based on these scenes. These…

On play and playing.

Science.gov (United States)

Rudan, Dusko

2013-12-01

The paper offers a review of the development of the concept of play and playing. The true beginnings of the development of the theories of play are set as late as in the 19th century. It is difficult to define play as such; it may much more easily be defined through its antipode--work. In the beginning, play used to be connected with education; it was not before Freud's theory of psychoanalysis and Piaget's developmental psychology that the importance of play in a child's development began to be explained in more detail. The paper further tackles the role of play in the adult age. Detailed attention is paid to psychodynamic and psychoanalytic authors, in particular D. W. Winnicott and his understanding of playing in the intermediary (transitional) empirical or experiential space. In other words, playing occupies a space and time of its own. The neuroscientific concept of playing is also tackled, in the connection with development as well.

Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play

OpenAIRE

Tremblay, Mark S.; Gray, Casey; Babcock, Shawna; Barnes, Joel; Costas Bradstreet, Christa; Carr, Dawn; Chabot, Guylaine; Choquette, Louise; Chorney, David; Collyer, Cam; Herrington, Susan; Janson, Katherine; Janssen, Ian; Larouche, Richard; Pickett, William

2015-01-01

A diverse, cross-sectorial group of partners, stakeholders and researchers, collaborated to develop an evidence-informed Position Statement on active outdoor play for children aged 3–12 years. The Position Statement was created in response to practitioner, academic, legal, insurance and public debate, dialogue and disagreement on the relative benefits and harms of active (including risky) outdoor play. The Position Statement development process was informed by two systematic reviews, a critic...

Open source information acquisition, analysis and integration in the IAEA Department of Safeguards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barletta, M.; Zarimpas, N.; Zarucki, R.

2010-10-01

Acquisition and analysis of open source information plays an increasingly important role in the IAEA strengthened safeguards system. The Agency's focal point for open source information collection and analysis is the Division of Safeguards Information Management (SGIM) within the IAEA Department of Safeguards. In parallel with the approval of the Model Additional Protocol in 1997, a new centre of information acquisition and analysis expertise was created within SGIM. By acquiring software, developing databases, retraining existing staff and hiring new staff with diverse analytical skills, SGIM is pro actively contributing to the future implementation of information-driven safeguards in collaboration with other Divisions within the Department of Safeguards. Open source information support is now fully integrated with core safeguards processes and activities, and has become an effective tool in the work of the Department of Safeguards. This provides and overview of progress realized through the acquisition and use of open source information in several thematic areas: evaluation of additional protocol declarations; support to the State Evaluation process; in-depth investigation of safeguards issues, including assisting inspections and complementary access; research on illicit nuclear procurement networks and trafficking; and monitoring nuclear developments. Demands for open source information have steadily grown and are likely to continue to grow in the future. Coupled with the enormous growth and accessibility in the volume and sources of information, new challenges are presented, both technical and analytical. This paper discusses actions taken and future plans for multi-source and multi-disciplinary analytic integration to strengthen confidence in safeguards conclusions - especially regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear materials and activities. (Author)

Information Flow Analysis for VHDL

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tolstrup, Terkel Kristian; Nielson, Flemming; Nielson, Hanne Riis

2005-01-01

We describe a fragment of the hardware description language VHDL that is suitable for implementing the Advanced Encryption Standard algorithm. We then define an Information Flow analysis as required by the international standard Common Criteria. The goal of the analysis is to identify the entire...... information flow through the VHDL program. The result of the analysis is presented as a non-transitive directed graph that connects those nodes (representing either variables or signals) where an information flow might occur. We compare our approach to that of Kemmerer and conclude that our approach yields...

Absurdity:Analysis of Features of the Style of Harold Pinter's Plays

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

南华; 王佳佳

2016-01-01

Absurdity is the most distinctive feature of the early works of Harold Pinter. The nature of absurdity is the purposeless-ness of life without the balance and harmony between men and environment. This paper analyzes the distinctive style of Pinter to mainly analyze the application and reflection of the absurd style of Pinter in his plays, and highlight its expressing forms through the analysis on the plot, characters and languages.

Deprival value: information utility analysis

OpenAIRE

Pereira, Marco Antonio; Pinto, Alexandre Evaristo; Barbosa Neto, João Estevão; Martins, Eliseu

2018-01-01

ABSTRACT This article contributes to the perception that the users’ learning process plays a key role in order to apply an accounting concept and this involves a presentation that fits its informative potential, free of previous accounting fixations. Deprival value is a useful measure for managerial and corporate purposes, it may be applied to the current Conceptual Framework of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). This study analyzes its utility, taking into account cognitive...

Inform: Efficient Information-Theoretic Analysis of Collective Behaviors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Douglas G. Moore

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The study of collective behavior has traditionally relied on a variety of different methodological tools ranging from more theoretical methods such as population or game-theoretic models to empirical ones like Monte Carlo or multi-agent simulations. An approach that is increasingly being explored is the use of information theory as a methodological framework to study the flow of information and the statistical properties of collectives of interacting agents. While a few general purpose toolkits exist, most of the existing software for information theoretic analysis of collective systems is limited in scope. We introduce Inform, an open-source framework for efficient information theoretic analysis that exploits the computational power of a C library while simplifying its use through a variety of wrappers for common higher-level scripting languages. We focus on two such wrappers here: PyInform (Python and rinform (R. Inform and its wrappers are cross-platform and general-purpose. They include classical information-theoretic measures, measures of information dynamics and information-based methods to study the statistical behavior of collective systems, and expose a lower-level API that allow users to construct measures of their own. We describe the architecture of the Inform framework, study its computational efficiency and use it to analyze three different case studies of collective behavior: biochemical information storage in regenerating planaria, nest-site selection in the ant Temnothorax rugatulus, and collective decision making in multi-agent simulations.

Modular Online Uninterruptible Power System Plug’n’Play Control and Stability Analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Chi; Coelho, Ernane A. A.; Guerrero, Josep M.

2016-01-01

In this paper, a plug`n'play control strategy proposed for modular online UPS system is presented, which allows to plug the UPS modules in or out randomly. This provides a less difficulty for the maintenance of the whole system. A two-level control scheme was proposed, including local controllers...... to achieve active and reactive power sharing and central controllers to maintain synchronization capability, which allows the online UPS modular system having faster dynamic performance according to the Standard IEC 62040-3. A detailed small signal mathematical model was developed in order to analyze...... the proposed modular online UPS system. Experimental results and data are presented to validate the stability analysis and support the proposed plug`n'play control feasibility....

Open source information acquisition, analysis and integration in the IAEA Department of Safeguards

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barletta, M.; Zarimpas, N.; Zarucki, R., E-mail: M.Barletta@iaea.or [IAEA, Wagramerstrasse 5, P.O. Box 100, 1400 Vienna (Austria)

2010-10-15

Acquisition and analysis of open source information plays an increasingly important role in the IAEA strengthened safeguards system. The Agency's focal point for open source information collection and analysis is the Division of Safeguards Information Management (SGIM) within the IAEA Department of Safeguards. In parallel with the approval of the Model Additional Protocol in 1997, a new centre of information acquisition and analysis expertise was created within SGIM. By acquiring software, developing databases, retraining existing staff and hiring new staff with diverse analytical skills, SGIM is pro actively contributing to the future implementation of information-driven safeguards in collaboration with other Divisions within the Department of Safeguards. Open source information support is now fully integrated with core safeguards processes and activities, and has become an effective tool in the work of the Department of Safeguards. This provides and overview of progress realized through the acquisition and use of open source information in several thematic areas: evaluation of additional protocol declarations; support to the State Evaluation process; in-depth investigation of safeguards issues, including assisting inspections and complementary access; research on illicit nuclear procurement networks and trafficking; and monitoring nuclear developments. Demands for open source information have steadily grown and are likely to continue to grow in the future. Coupled with the enormous growth and accessibility in the volume and sources of information, new challenges are presented, both technical and analytical. This paper discusses actions taken and future plans for multi-source and multi-disciplinary analytic integration to strengthen confidence in safeguards conclusions - especially regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear materials and activities. (Author)

Concussion Incidence and Recurrence in Professional Australian Football Match-Play: A 14-Year Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nathan Gibbs

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Concussion incidence rates in professional Australian football may be underreported due to the injury classification definition. A myriad of factors contribute to concussion risk; however, there is limited long-term surveillance in Australian football. This study analysed concussion in one Australian football team over an extended period. Method. Match-play concussion injuries in one team (n=116 participants were diagnosed and treated by the team physician over 14 years. Analysis of factors related to concussion including matches played, time of day and season, and return to play provided an insight into occurrence and recurrence rates. Results. 140 concussions were recorded (17.6 per 1000 player match hours. A strong relationship was evident between matches played and concussion incidence (r=0.70 and match conditions did not negatively affect the concussion rate. Whether an athlete returned to play in the same match or suffered a loss-of-consciousness concussion (p=0.84, their ensuing rate of concussion was not affected. Conclusion. Concussion in professional Australian football was related to the number of matches played. Further, neither previous incidence nor loss of consciousness affected future concussion risk. This study provides ecologically valid evidence of the concussion incidence rate in professional Australian football and has implications for the management of athletes sustaining concussion injuries.

Gender Differences in Students' Mathematics Game Playing

Science.gov (United States)

Lowrie, Tom; Jorgensen, Robyn

2011-01-01

The investigation monitored the digital game-playing behaviours of 428 primary-aged students (aged 10-12 years). Chi-square analysis revealed that boys tend to spend more time playing digital games than girls while boys and girls play quite different game genres. Subsequent analysis revealed statistically significant gender differences in terms of…

Learner interaction in a massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG): A sociocultural discourse analysis

OpenAIRE

Peterson, Mark

2012-01-01

This exploratory study investigates the linguistic and social interaction of four intermediate EFL learners during game play in a massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG). Twelve illustrative episodes drawn from the participants’ text chat, collected in four 70-minute sessions held over a one-month period, are analyzed from a sociocultural perspective. Qualitative analysis reveals the presence of interactional features associated with the development of sociocultural competence...

Facilitating play through communication: significance of teeth exposure in the gorilla play face.

Science.gov (United States)

Waller, Bridget M; Cherry, Lyndsay

2012-02-01

Primate facial expressions (FEs) likely play an important role in primate society: through facial signals, individuals can potentially send and receive information and may benefit from coordinating their behavior accordingly. Many primates use a relaxed open mouth (ROM) facial display or “play face” (PF) during play behavior, where the mouth is open but teeth are covered. In addition to this conventional PF, however, Western Lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) also use a full PF where the upper teeth are exposed. As the teeth are similarly exposed in the bared-teeth expression (which is a signal of appeasement, submission and/or affiliation), the full PF may be a blend of the PF and bared-teeth face, and have a different signal function to the PF alone. Focal animal sampling of captive Western Lowland gorillas (N=10) showed that the full PF was more often observed in intense rather than gentle play, and intense play bouts that featured the full PF were longer than those that featured only the PF. Both expressions were associated with an increase in affinitive behavior between sender and receiver postplay, but only the full PF was associated with an increase higher than that of play alone. Overall, the findings suggest that the full PF has an additional role in coordinating and maintaining play, possibly though reducing uncertainty in the receiver and confirming that play is only play.

Considering play : From method to analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Vught, J.F.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/413532682; Glas, M.A.J.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/330981447

2017-01-01

This paper deals with play as an important methodological issue when studying games as texts and is intended as a practical methodological guide. After considering text as both the structuring object as well as its plural processual activations, we argue that different methodological considerations

Play, Playfulness, Creativity and Innovation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrick Bateson

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Play, as defined by biologists and psychologists, is probably heterogeneous. On the other hand, playfulness may be a unitary motivational state. Playful play as opposed to activities that merge into aggression is characterized by positive mood, intrinsic motivation, occurring in a protected context and easily disrupted by stress. Playful play is a good measure of positive welfare. It can occupy a substantial part of the waking-life of a young mammal or bird. Numerous functions for play have been proposed and they are by no means mutually exclusive, but some evidence indicates that those individual animals that play most are most likely to survive and reproduce. The link of playful play to creativity and hence to innovation in humans is strong. Considerable evidence suggests that coming up with new ideas requires a different mindset from usefully implementing a new idea.

Canonical analysis based on mutual information

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Allan Aasbjerg; Vestergaard, Jacob Schack

2015-01-01

combinations with the information theoretical measure mutual information (MI). We term this type of analysis canonical information analysis (CIA). MI allows for the actual joint distribution of the variables involved and not just second order statistics. While CCA is ideal for Gaussian data, CIA facilitates...

Correlation Between Ability on Playing Tetris and GPA

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Aprilia Ratna Christanti

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The goal of this study is to determine the correlation between ability on playing Tetris and GPA of Soegijapranata Catholic University, Department of Information System students against the dexterity in playing Tetris. The research has been done using experiment method on ten Information System students who have various grade points. They played Tetris, 30 minutes each, for three consecutive days. The results showed that: First, eight out of the ten students improved their agility. It can be seen from the increasing scores and levels; Second, the coefficient correlation between student grade point and dexterity in playing Tetris is by 62%. Keywords Ability, grade point average, Tetris

Virtual plagues and real-world pandemics: reflecting on the potential for online computer role-playing games to inform real world epidemic research.

Science.gov (United States)

Oultram, Stuart

2013-12-01

In the wake of the Corrupted Blood incident, which afflicted the massively multiplayer online computer role-playing game World of Warcraft in 2005, it has been suggested that both, the incident itself and massively multiplayer online computer role-playing games in general, can be utilised to inform and assist real-world epidemic and public health research. In this paper, I engage critically with these claims.

The Use of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games in CALL: An Analysis of Research

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Mark

2016-01-01

Contemporary CALL research reflects renewed interest in digital games. One aspect of this phenomenon namely, use of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), has expanded significantly, highlighting the need for a review. This paper analyzes findings from 10 learner-based studies that draw on accounts of SLA informed by cognitive…

INFORMATION SYSTEM OF THE FINANCIAL ANALYSIS

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MIRELA MONEA

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Financial analysis provides the information necessary for decision making, and also helps both the external and internal users of these. The results of the financial analysis work are dependent on the quality, accuracy, relevance and effectiveness of the information collected, and processed. Essential sources of information for financial analysis are financial statements, which are considered the raw material of financial analysis. One of the financial statements -the balance sheet - provides information about assets, liabilities, equity, liquidity, solvency, risk, financial flexibility. The profit and loss account is a synthesis accounting document, part of the financial statement reporting enterprise financial performances during of a specified accounting period and summarizes all revenues earned and expenses of an accounting period and reports the results.

Teaching Speaking Skills from Role-play to Communicative Competence via Information-gap and Opinion-gap Activities. One Teacher's Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Scullard, Sue

1986-01-01

The task of the teacher of foreign languages is to enable the students to progress gradually from teacher/coursebook controlled utterances to complete linguistic autonomy. Role play and a progression of information-gap activities are discussed in terms of developing students' personal autonomy at each level of linguistic competence. (Author/LMO)

Deprival value: information utility analysis

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Marco Antonio Pereira

Full Text Available ABSTRACT This article contributes to the perception that the users’ learning process plays a key role in order to apply an accounting concept and this involves a presentation that fits its informative potential, free of previous accounting fixations. Deprival value is a useful measure for managerial and corporate purposes, it may be applied to the current Conceptual Framework of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB. This study analyzes its utility, taking into account cognitive aspects. Also known as value to the business, deprival value is a measurement system that followed a path where it was misunderstood, confused with another one, it faced resistance to be implemented and fell into disuse; everything that a standardized measurement method tries to avoid. In contrast, deprival value has found support in the academy and in specific applications, such as those related to the public service regulation. The accounting area has been impacted by sophistication of the measurement methods that increasingly require the ability to analyze accounting facts on an economic basis, at the risk of loss of their information content. This development becomes possible only when the potential of a measurement system is known and it is feasible to be achieved. This study consists in a theoretical essay based on literature review to discuss its origin, presentation, and application. Considering the concept’s cognitive difficulties, deprival value was analyzed, as well as its corresponding heteronym, value to the business, in order to explain some of these changes. The concept’s utility was also explored through cross-analysis with impairment and the scheme developed was applied to actual economic situations faced by a company listed on stock exchange.

Why do Dolphins Play?

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Stan A. Kuczaj

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Play is an important aspect of dolphin life, perhaps even an essential one. Play provides opportunities for dolphin calves to practice and perfect locomotor skills, including those involved in foraging and mating strategies and behaviors. Play also allows dolphin calves to learn important social skills and acquire information about the characteristics and predispositions of members of their social group, particularly their peers. In addition to helping dolphin calves learn how to behave, play also provides valuable opportunities for them to learn how to think. The ability to create and control play contexts enables dolphins to create novel experiences for themselves and their playmates under relatively safe conditions. The behavioral variability and individual creativity that characterize dolphin play yield ample opportunities for individual cognitive development as well as social learning, and sometimes result in innovations that are reproduced by other members of the group. Although adults sometimes produce innovative play, calves are the primary source of such innovations. Calves are also more likely to imitate novel play behaviors than are adults, and so calves contribute significantly to both the creation and transmission of novel play behaviors within a group. Not unexpectedly, then, the complexity of dolphin play increases with the involvement of peers. As a result, the opportunity to observe and/or interact with other dolphin calves enhances the effects of play on the acquisition and maintenance of flexible problem solving skills, the emergence and strengthening of social and communicative competencies, and the establishment of social relationships. It seems that play may have evolved to help young dolphins learn to adapt to novel situations in both their physical and social worlds, the beneficial result being a set of abilities that increases the likelihood that an individual survives and reproduces.

Is playing exergames really exercising? A meta-analysis of energy expenditure in active video games.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Wei; Lin, Jih-Hsuan; Crouse, Julia

2011-11-01

This article reports a meta-analysis of energy expenditure (EE) of playing active video games (AVGs). In particular, heart rate (HR), oxygen consumption (VO2), and EE were assessed and three moderators for the effects of AVGs--types of AVG, player age, and player weight status--were analyzed. The results show that playing AVGs significantly increased HR, VO2, and EE from resting. The effect sizes of playing AVGs on HR, VO2, and EE were similar to traditional physical activities. AVG type and player age were significant moderators for the effects of AVGs. The finding suggests that AVGs are effective technologies that may facilitate light- to moderate-intensity physical activity promotion.

Playing with Place in Early Childhood: An Analysis of Dark Emotion and Materiality in Children's Play

Science.gov (United States)

Procter, Lisa; Hackett, Abigail

2017-01-01

In this article, the authors bring together the cultural studies of emotion with theories that foreground the agency of place and objects in order to analyse the entanglement of place, children and emotion (particularly fear) in children's play encounters. When children, objects and places come into play with each other, intensities and emotions…

The Role of Trust as an Informal Institution in the Informal Sector in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2014-11-21

Nov 21, 2014 ... on the informal sector focused on the towns and cities of Africa. Later, the ... The methodology used for this analysis follows a small-N case study .... informal sector plays a significant role in economic development by providing .... a requirement for collaboration and networking in the sector (Pedersen 2001).

Motivation, Creativity, Play & Learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersson, Eva

2005-01-01

on their needs and desires. This paper presents results from SoundScapes body of research which is utilising technology in assistive (re)habilitation from Virtual Interactive Space (VIS); furthermore the paper describes what emerges in play scenarios that utilise enabling technology. The involved study exhibits...... implementation of robotic physical movement synchronously manipulated from sourced data movement information of a human. SoundScapes is a concept based on non-verbal communication and stimulation through interactive play with sounds and images, which is being realised in the production of a non-wearable sensor...

MULTIMODAL CONSTRUCTION OF CHILDREN'S ARGUMENTS IN DISPUTES DURING PLAY

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Rosemberg, Celia Renata

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Within the framework of a sociocultural theory of human development and learning (Vigotsky, 2009; Bruner, 1986; Nelson, 1996; Tomasello, 1998, 2003, this paper aims to investigate the multimodal construction of arguments produced by 5 year-old children during disputes in a kindergarten play situation. We considered the juxtaposition of information provided by resources from different semiotic fields (Goodwin, 2000, 2007. The corpus consists of the interactions in a group of children while they play with building blocks. This play situation was videotaped in a kindergarten classroom that is attended by an urban marginalized population of outer Buenos Aires, Argentina. The analysis makes use of the qualitative logic derived from the methodological tools of Conversation Analysis developed in previous research (Goodwin, 2000, 2007; Goodwin and Goodwin, 1990, 2000; Goodwin, Goodwin and Yaeger-Dror, 2002. The results show the different semiotic fields that overlap with the linguistic expression of the arguments or points of view that children maintain while quarrelling during play situations. This demonstrates the importance of attending to intonation, the use of space, the direction of gaze, gestures, and body positioning as they are components that contribute to the argumentative force of the utterances in disputes. These elements emerge as indicators of the emotions that parties experience in disputes which can not be disregarded when attempting to account for how argumentation occurs in real situations of interaction. This paper is written in Spanish.

Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play

Science.gov (United States)

Tremblay, Mark S.; Gray, Casey; Babcock, Shawna; Barnes, Joel; Costas Bradstreet, Christa; Carr, Dawn; Chabot, Guylaine; Choquette, Louise; Chorney, David; Collyer, Cam; Herrington, Susan; Janson, Katherine; Janssen, Ian; Larouche, Richard; Pickett, William; Power, Marlene; Sandseter, Ellen Beate Hansen; Simon, Brenda; Brussoni, Mariana

2015-01-01

A diverse, cross-sectorial group of partners, stakeholders and researchers, collaborated to develop an evidence-informed Position Statement on active outdoor play for children aged 3–12 years. The Position Statement was created in response to practitioner, academic, legal, insurance and public debate, dialogue and disagreement on the relative benefits and harms of active (including risky) outdoor play. The Position Statement development process was informed by two systematic reviews, a critical appraisal of the current literature and existing position statements, engagement of research experts (N = 9) and cross-sectorial individuals/organizations (N = 17), and an extensive stakeholder consultation process (N = 1908). More than 95% of the stakeholders consulted strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with the Position Statement; 14/17 participating individuals/organizations endorsed it; and over 1000 additional individuals and organizations requested their name be listed as a supporter. The final Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play states: “Access to active play in nature and outdoors—with its risks— is essential for healthy child development. We recommend increasing children’s opportunities for self-directed play outdoors in all settings—at home, at school, in child care, the community and nature.” The full Position Statement provides context for the statement, evidence supporting it, and a series of recommendations to increase active outdoor play opportunities to promote healthy child development. PMID:26062040

Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play.

Science.gov (United States)

Tremblay, Mark S; Gray, Casey; Babcock, Shawna; Barnes, Joel; Bradstreet, Christa Costas; Carr, Dawn; Chabot, Guylaine; Choquette, Louise; Chorney, David; Collyer, Cam; Herrington, Susan; Janson, Katherine; Janssen, Ian; Larouche, Richard; Pickett, William; Power, Marlene; Sandseter, Ellen Beate Hansen; Simon, Brenda; Brussoni, Mariana

2015-06-08

A diverse, cross-sectorial group of partners, stakeholders and researchers, collaborated to develop an evidence-informed Position Statement on active outdoor play for children aged 3-12 years. The Position Statement was created in response to practitioner, academic, legal, insurance and public debate, dialogue and disagreement on the relative benefits and harms of active (including risky) outdoor play. The Position Statement development process was informed by two systematic reviews, a critical appraisal of the current literature and existing position statements, engagement of research experts (N=9) and cross-sectorial individuals/organizations (N=17), and an extensive stakeholder consultation process (N=1908). More than 95% of the stakeholders consulted strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with the Position Statement; 14/17 participating individuals/organizations endorsed it; and over 1000 additional individuals and organizations requested their name be listed as a supporter. The final Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play states: "Access to active play in nature and outdoors--with its risks--is essential for healthy child development. We recommend increasing children's opportunities for self-directed play outdoors in all settings--at home, at school, in child care, the community and nature." The full Position Statement provides context for the statement, evidence supporting it, and a series of recommendations to increase active outdoor play opportunities to promote healthy child development.

Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark S. Tremblay

2015-06-01

Full Text Available A diverse, cross-sectorial group of partners, stakeholders and researchers, collaborated to develop an evidence-informed Position Statement on active outdoor play for children aged 3–12 years. The Position Statement was created in response to practitioner, academic, legal, insurance and public debate, dialogue and disagreement on the relative benefits and harms of active (including risky outdoor play. The Position Statement development process was informed by two systematic reviews, a critical appraisal of the current literature and existing position statements, engagement of research experts (N = 9 and cross-sectorial individuals/organizations (N = 17, and an extensive stakeholder consultation process (N = 1908. More than 95% of the stakeholders consulted strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with the Position Statement; 14/17 participating individuals/organizations endorsed it; and over 1000 additional individuals and organizations requested their name be listed as a supporter. The final Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play states: “Access to active play in nature and outdoors—with its risks— is essential for healthy child development. We recommend increasing children’s opportunities for self-directed play outdoors in all settings—at home, at school, in child care, the community and nature.” The full Position Statement provides context for the statement, evidence supporting it, and a series of recommendations to increase active outdoor play opportunities to promote healthy child development.

Children's Pastimes and Play in Sixteen Nations: Is Free-Play Declining?

Science.gov (United States)

Singer, Dorothy G.; Singer, Jerome L.; D'Agnostino, Heidi; DeLong, Raeka

2009-01-01

This article is based on a study of the role of play and experiential-learning activities beyond formal schooling in sixteen nations. The study, supported by Unilever PLC, gathered information from the mothers of twenty-four hundred children in countries in North America, South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia who described and rated their…

Discovery, utilisation and analysis of credible threats for 2×2 incomplete information games in the Theory of Moves framework

Science.gov (United States)

Olsen, Jolie; Sen, Sandip

2014-04-01

Steven Brams's [(1994). Theory of moves. Cambridge University Press] Theory of Moves (TOM) is an alternative to traditional game theoretic treatment of real-life interactions, in which players choose strategies based on analysis of future moves and counter-moves that arise if game play commences at a specified start state and either player can choose to move first. In repeated play, players using TOM rationality arrive at nonmyopic equilibria. One advantage of TOM is its ability to model scenarios in which power asymmetries exist between players. In particular, threat power, i.e. the ability of one player to threaten and sustain immediate, globally disadvantageous outcomes to force a desirable result long term, can be utilised to induce Pareto optimal states in games such as Prisoner's Dilemma which result in Pareto-dominated outcomes using traditional methods. Unfortunately, prior work on TOM is limited by an assumption of complete information. This paper presents a mechanism that can be used by a player to utilise threat power when playing a strict, ordinal 2×2 game under incomplete information. We also analyse the benefits of threat power and support in this analysis with empirical evidence.

Managed Play: The Media’s Impact on Play in the Australian Football League

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duncan Samuel Keith

2018-03-01

Full Text Available No industry has influenced the transformation of the Australian Football League (AFL into a professional, commercial business more than the media. Today, the AFL players are paid more than ever and are used as marketing tools to promote and sell the game, often to new fans in new markets of Australia - namely New South Wales and Queensland - who haven’t traditionally played Australian Football, preferring the rugby codes instead. But perhaps the biggest change in the AFL is that the play element is now used as function of business. Put simply, winning leads to more money. As such, the play element is now manipulated more than ever. The game has more coaches implementing more tactics, strategies, game plans and set plays than ever before. These changes can be linked back to the media’s influence on the game. This paper utilises the combined observations and theories of Johan Huizinga and Pierre Bourdieu to create a theoretical lens through which we can understand the media’s growing influence in sport and its impact on play’s transformation. The theory will then be expounded through an extensive analysis of the media’s influence in the AFL, particularly its play element. This analysis will be supported with insights and views from AFL fans, members, commentators and theorists.

Information needs analysis principles and practice in information organizations

CERN Document Server

Dorner, Daniel G; Calvert, Philip J

2010-01-01

If you want to provide an information service that truly fulfils your users' needs, this book is essential reading. The book supports practitioners in developing an information needs analysis strategy and offers the necessary professional skills and techniques to do so.

The views of parents who experience intergenerational poverty on parenting and play: a qualitative analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, R L; Stagnitti, K; Lewis, A J; Pépin, G

2015-11-01

There is minimal literature on how parents experiencing intergenerational poverty view their role as parents and the value they place on children's play. The objective of this study was to examine how these parents view their parenting role and their beliefs about children's play. Thirteen mothers of preschool-aged children who experienced intergenerational poverty were recruited to the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and were analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Parents described their role as guiding their children to become 'good' people, to teach them skills and provide a routine within the home. There were two disconnections in the data including the view that whilst parenting was hard and lonely, it was also a private matter and participants preferred not to seek support. A second disconnection was in terms of their beliefs about play. Parents believed that whilst play was valuable to their child's development, it was not their role to play with children. However, if parents did play with their child, they noticed positive changes in their child's behaviour. The views of parents who experienced intergenerational poverty were similar to other reported findings in parenting studies. However, the current sample differed on not seeking help for support as well as not seeing their role as playing with their children, even though occasions of joining their child in play were associated with a positive change in their relationship with their child. This has implications for communicating about parenting issues with parents who have experienced intergenerational poverty. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Play Practices and Play Moods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Karoff, Helle Skovbjerg

2013-01-01

The aim of this article is to develop a view of play as a relation between play practices and play moods based on an empirical study of children's everyday life and by using Bateson's term of ‘framing’ [(1955/2001). In Steps to an ecology of mind (pp. 75–80). Chicago: University of Chicago Press......], Schmidt's notion of ‘commonness’ [(2005). Om respekten. København: Danmarks Pædagogiske Universitets Forlag; (2011). On respect. Copenhagen: Danish School of Education University Press] and Heidegger's term ‘mood’ [(1938/1996). Time and being. Cornwall: Wiley-Blackwell.]. Play mood is a state of being...... in which we are open and ready, both to others and their production of meaning and to new opportunities for producing meaning. This play mood is created when we engage with the world during play practices. The article points out four types of play moods – devotion, intensity, tension and euphorica – which...

Designing Out the Play: Accessibility and Playfulness in Inclusive Play.

Science.gov (United States)

Holt, Raymond; Beckett, Angharad

2017-01-01

Play is an important part of child development, yet disabled children are often excluded from the opportunity to play, either due to lack of accessible toys and games, or social pressures. This paper presents a case study reflecting on the development of Button Bash: a switch accessible game intended to encourage inclusive play between disabled and non-disabled children. In particular, the paper focuses on how changes intended to make the game more accessible tended to make it less playful, and reflects on the relationship between playfulness and accessibility.

Communication Analysis of Information Complexes.

Science.gov (United States)

Malik, M. F.

Communication analysis is a tool for perceptual assessment of existing or projected information complexes, i.e., an established reality perceived by one or many humans. An information complex could be of a physical nature, such as a building, landscape, city street; or of a pure informational nature, such as a film, television program,…

Game Analysis, Validation, and Potential Application of EyeToy Play and Play 2 to Upper-Extremity Rehabilitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-ping Chen

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Objective. To describe and analyze the potential use of games in the commercially available EyeToy Play and EyeToy Play 2 on required/targeted training skills and feedback provided for clinical application. Methods. A summary table including all games was created. Two movement experts naïve to the software validated required/targeted training skills and feedback for 10 randomly selected games. Ten healthy school-aged children played to further validate the required/targeted training skills. Results. All but two (muscular and cardiovascular endurance had excellent agreement in required/targeted training skills, and there was 100% agreement on feedback. Children’s performance in required/targeted training skills (number of unilateral reaches and bilateral reaches, speed, muscular endurance, and cardiovascular endurance significantly differed between games (P<.05. Conclusion. EyeToy Play games could be used to train children’s arm function. However, a careful evaluation of the games is needed since performance might not be consistent between players and therapists’ interpretation.

Play and Self-Regulation: Lessons from Vygotsky

Science.gov (United States)

Bodrova, Elena; Germeroth, Carrie; Leong, Deborah J.

2013-01-01

The authors consider the analysis of the literature on play research by Lillard and others in the January 2013 "Psychological Bulletin," an analysis that questioned the prevailing assumption of a causal relationship between play and child development, especially in the areas of creativity, reasoning, executive function, and regulation of…

Comprehensive analysis of information dissemination in disasters

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, N.; Huang, H.; Su, Boni

2016-11-01

China is a country that experiences a large number of disasters. The number of deaths caused by large-scale disasters and accidents in past 10 years is around 900,000. More than 92.8 percent of these deaths could be avoided if there were an effective pre-warning system deployed. Knowledge of the information dissemination characteristics of different information media taking into consideration governmental assistance (information published by a government) in disasters in urban areas, plays a critical role in increasing response time and reducing the number of deaths and economic losses. In this paper we have developed a comprehensive information dissemination model to optimize efficiency of pre-warning mechanics. This model also can be used for disseminating information for evacuees making real-time evacuation plans. We analyzed every single information dissemination models for pre-warning in disasters by considering 14 media: short message service (SMS), phone, television, radio, news portals, Wechat, microblogs, email, newspapers, loudspeaker vehicles, loudspeakers, oral communication, and passive information acquisition via visual and auditory senses. Since governmental assistance is very useful in a disaster, we calculated the sensitivity of governmental assistance ratio. The results provide useful references for information dissemination during disasters in urban areas.

Play and play occupation: a survey of paediatric occupational therapy practice in Ireland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alice Moore

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Purpose - Play occupation has been identified as an essential part of children’s lives, and it subsequently features in paediatric occupational therapy. However, few studies address the current place of play and play occupation in occupational therapy practice. This study aims to address this gap in knowledge by exploring paediatric occupational therapists’ perspectives on the place of play and play occupation in occupational therapy practice in Ireland. Design/methodology/approach - A cross-sectional online survey was conducted to gather data about the current use of play in the occupational therapy for children under 12 years. Convenience sampling and snowball recruitment techniques were used to recruit paediatric occupational therapists. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis. Findings - In total, 65 therapists responded to the survey (estimated response rate, 32%. Results are organised into four sections: demographics and practice context, play assessment practices, use of play in practice and perceived barriers to play-centred practice. Respondents reported that they valued play as a childhood occupation. However, the survey findings identified that the primary focus was on play as a means to an end. Lack of education on play (research, theory and interventions and pressures in the workplace have been identified as barriers to play-centred practice. Research limitations/implications - Findings indicate that there is a mismatch between therapists valuing play as an occupation and how play is used in occupational therapy practice. Unless clarifications are made about play occupation as being different to skills acquisition in childhood, play occupation will continue to get overlooked as an authentic concern of occupation-centred practice. Thus, play as occupation deserves further attention from educators, researchers and practitioners as a means of strengthening occupation-centred practice, in

Formulating informative, data-based priors for failure probability estimation in reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guikema, Seth D.

2007-01-01

Priors play an important role in the use of Bayesian methods in risk analysis, and using all available information to formulate an informative prior can lead to more accurate posterior inferences. This paper examines the practical implications of using five different methods for formulating an informative prior for a failure probability based on past data. These methods are the method of moments, maximum likelihood (ML) estimation, maximum entropy estimation, starting from a non-informative 'pre-prior', and fitting a prior based on confidence/credible interval matching. The priors resulting from the use of these different methods are compared qualitatively, and the posteriors are compared quantitatively based on a number of different scenarios of observed data used to update the priors. The results show that the amount of information assumed in the prior makes a critical difference in the accuracy of the posterior inferences. For situations in which the data used to formulate the informative prior is an accurate reflection of the data that is later observed, the ML approach yields the minimum variance posterior. However, the maximum entropy approach is more robust to differences between the data used to formulate the prior and the observed data because it maximizes the uncertainty in the prior subject to the constraints imposed by the past data

Informational analysis involving application of complex information system

Science.gov (United States)

Ciupak, Clébia; Vanti, Adolfo Alberto; Balloni, Antonio José; Espin, Rafael

The aim of the present research is performing an informal analysis for internal audit involving the application of complex information system based on fuzzy logic. The same has been applied in internal audit involving the integration of the accounting field into the information systems field. The technological advancements can provide improvements to the work performed by the internal audit. Thus we aim to find, in the complex information systems, priorities for the work of internal audit of a high importance Private Institution of Higher Education. The applied method is quali-quantitative, as from the definition of strategic linguistic variables it was possible to transform them into quantitative with the matrix intersection. By means of a case study, where data were collected via interview with the Administrative Pro-Rector, who takes part at the elaboration of the strategic planning of the institution, it was possible to infer analysis concerning points which must be prioritized at the internal audit work. We emphasize that the priorities were identified when processed in a system (of academic use). From the study we can conclude that, starting from these information systems, audit can identify priorities on its work program. Along with plans and strategic objectives of the enterprise, the internal auditor can define operational procedures to work in favor of the attainment of the objectives of the organization.

Improving access to health information for older migrants by using grounded theory and social network analysis to understand their information behaviour and digital technology use.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodall, K T; Newman, L A; Ward, P R

2014-11-01

Migrant well-being can be strongly influenced by the migration experience and subsequent degree of mainstream language acquisition. There is little research on how older Culturally And Linguistically Diverse (CALD) migrants who have 'aged in place' find health information, and the role which digital technology plays in this. Although the research for this paper was not focused on cancer, we draw out implications for providing cancer-related information to this group. We interviewed 54 participants (14 men and 40 women) aged 63-94 years, who were born in Italy or Greece, and who migrated to Australia mostly as young adults after World War II. Constructivist grounded theory and social network analysis were used for data analysis. Participants identified doctors, adult children, local television, spouse, local newspaper and radio as the most important information sources. They did not generally use computers, the Internet or mobile phones to access information. Literacy in their birth language, and the degree of proficiency in understanding and using English, influenced the range of information sources accessed and the means used. The ways in which older CALD migrants seek and access information has important implications for how professionals and policymakers deliver relevant information to them about cancer prevention, screening, support and treatment, particularly as information and resources are moved online as part of e-health. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Why do adult dogs 'play'?

Science.gov (United States)

Bradshaw, John W S; Pullen, Anne J; Rooney, Nicola J

2015-01-01

Among the Carnivora, play behaviour is usually made up of motor patterns characteristic of predatory, agonistic and courtship behaviour. Domestic dogs are unusual in that play is routinely performed by adults, both socially, with conspecifics and with humans, and also asocially, with objects. This enhanced playfulness is commonly thought to be a side effect of paedomorphosis, the perpetuation of juvenile traits into adulthood, but here we suggest that the functions of the different types of play are sufficiently distinct that they are unlikely to have arisen through a single evolutionary mechanism. Solitary play with objects appears to be derived from predatory behaviour: preferred toys are those that can be dismembered, and a complex habituation-like feedback system inhibits play with objects that are resistant to alteration. Intraspecific social play is structurally different from interspecific play and may therefore be motivationally distinct and serve different goals; for example, dogs often compete over objects when playing with other dogs, but are usually more cooperative when the play partner is human. The majority of dogs do not seem to regard competitive games played with a human partner as "dominance" contests: rather, winning possession of objects during games appears to be simply rewarding. Play may be an important factor in sociality, since dogs are capable of extracting social information not only from games in which they participate, but also from games that they observe between third parties. We suggest that the domestic dog's characteristic playfulness in social contexts is an adaptive trait, selected during domestication to facilitate both training for specific purposes, and the formation of emotionally-based bonds between dog and owner. Play frequency and form may therefore be an indicator of the quality of dog-owner relationships. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

On detecting the playing/non-playing activity of musicians in symphonic music videos

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bazzica, A.; Liem, C.C.S.; Hanjalic, A.

2016-01-01

Information on whether a musician in a large symphonic orchestra plays her instrument at a given time stamp or not is valuable for a wide variety of applications aiming at mimicking and enriching the classical music concert experience on modern multimedia platforms. In this work, we propose a novel

Teachers and Children Playing with Factorization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Valente, Andrea; Marchetti, Emanuela

2013-01-01

adventure game and a logic puzzle game. The game design was informed by the results obtained in a 1 year field study exploring and assessing techniques for transposing dynamic and complex domain-specific knowledge into games. Empirical results suggest that children may prefer different forms of play, mainly...... two were individuated: a competitive form of play, which was mapped into the 2D adventure game, and a designerly-creative play, which was mapped into a puzzle game (Valente and Marchetti 2011). This paper presents empirical results of a qualitative test, conducted with Danish primary school students......Teachers and children playing with factorization: putting Prime Slaughter to the test. Last year the prime slaughter game was designed and implemented, to enable primary and early secondary school students to play with prime numbers and factorization, within two different game contexts: a 2D...

"Whoever increases his knowledge merely increases his heartache." Moral tensions in heart surgery patients' and their spouses' talk about information seeking. Discourse analysis, Social constructionism, Heart surgery, Information seeking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tuominen Kimmo

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The paper analyses accounts of information behaviour that are produced by 20 heart surgery patients and their spouses. It is shown that patients and their significant others have to act in a context in which health ideologies stressing self sufficiency and patient compliance play a strong role. Thus, the analysed accounts and narratives of information seeking reflect moral demands that ill persons and their significant others are facing in contemporary society. The author uses social constructionist discourse analysis to examine how the interviewees have to relate their descriptions of information practices to existing moral presuppositions on how rational individuals should behave.

The use of playing by the nursing staff on palliative care for children with cancer

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Vanessa Albuquerque Soares

Full Text Available This study aimed to describe ways of using play by the nursing staff on palliative care of children with cancer and analyze the facilitators and barriers of the use of playing on this type of care. Qualitative, descriptive research developed on November 2012 with 11 health professionals, in a public hospital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis of the information were conducted. The use of playing before procedures was highlighted as a facilitator on palliative care. The child's physical condition, one's restriction, resistance of some professionals and the lack of time for developing this activity, made the use of play harder. We concluded that playing enables the child with cancer, in palliative care, a humanized assistance, being fundamental to integrate it on the care for these children.

Role-play as an educational tool in medication communication skills: Students’ perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Lavanya, S. H.; Kalpana, L.; Veena, R. M.; Bharath Kumar, V. D.

2016-01-01

Objectives: Medication communication skills are vital aspects of patient care that may influence treatment outcomes. However, traditional pharmacology curriculum deals with imparting factual information, with little emphasis on patient communication. The current study aims to explore students’ perceptions of role-play as an educational tool in acquiring communication skills and to ascertain the need of role-play for their future clinical practice. Materials and Methods: This questionnaire-based study was done in 2nd professional MBBS students. A consolidated concept of six training cases, focusing on major communication issues related to medication prescription in pharmacology, were developed for peer-role-play sessions for 2nd professional MBBS (n = 122) students. Structured scripts with specific emphasis on prescription medication communication and checklists for feedback were developed. Prevalidated questionnaires measured the quantitative aspects of role-plays in relation to their relevance as teaching–learning tool, perceived benefits of sessions, and their importance for future use. Statistical Analysis: Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics. Results: The role-play concept was well appreciated and considered an effective means for acquiring medication communication skills. The structured feedback by peers and faculty was well received by many. Over 90% of the students reported immense confidence in communicating therapy details, namely, drug name, purpose, mechanism, dosing details, and precautions. Majority reported a better retention of pharmacology concepts and preferred more such sessions. Conclusions: Most students consider peer-role-play as an indispensable tool to acquire effective communication skills regarding drug therapy. By virtue of providing experiential learning opportunities and its feasibility of implementation, role-play sessions justify inclusion in undergraduate medical curricula. PMID:28031605

Intelligent acoustic data fusion technique for information security analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Ying; Tang, Yize; Lu, Wenda; Wang, Zhongfeng; Wang, Zepeng; Zhang, Luming

2017-08-01

Tone is an essential component of word formation in all tonal languages, and it plays an important role in the transmission of information in speech communication. Therefore, tones characteristics study can be applied into security analysis of acoustic signal by the means of language identification, etc. In speech processing, fundamental frequency (F0) is often viewed as representing tones by researchers of speech synthesis. However, regular F0 values may lead to low naturalness in synthesized speech. Moreover, F0 and tone are not equivalent linguistically; F0 is just a representation of a tone. Therefore, the Electroglottography (EGG) signal is collected for deeper tones characteristics study. In this paper, focusing on the Northern Kam language, which has nine tonal contours and five level tone types, we first collected EGG and speech signals from six natural male speakers of the Northern Kam language, and then achieved the clustering distributions of the tone curves. After summarizing the main characteristics of tones of Northern Kam, we analyzed the relationship between EGG and speech signal parameters, and laid the foundation for further security analysis of acoustic signal.

Children's Engagement in Play at Home: A Parent's Role in Supporting Play Opportunities during Early Childhood

Science.gov (United States)

LaForett, Doré R.; Mendez, Julia L.

2017-01-01

This study examined parents' developmentally appropriate beliefs about young children's play and parents' views on their child's play skills. This exploratory secondary data analysis was drawn from data on low-income African-American and Latino parents and their children (n = 109) participating in Head Start programmes in the USA. Compared with…

Analysis of Russian Federation Foreign Policy in the Field of International Information Security

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Elena S. Zinovieva

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Information and communication technologies (ICT play an essential role in the improvement of the quality of life, economic and socio-political of individual countries and humanity in general. However, ICT development is fraught with new challenges and threats to international and national security. Interstate rivalry in the information sphere generates conflicts, an extreme form of which is an information war. Since 1998, the Russian initiative supports the international cooperation on information security at the global and regional level as well as within the framework of the bilateral relations. The article analyzes the characteristics of the global information society, which has a decisive influence on the international security in the information age, as well as international cooperation in this field. The analysis of Russian foreign policy initiatives in the field of international information security is also presented. Today more than 130 countries develop cyber capabilities, both defensive and offensive, that pose serious threats to the international stability. It's difficult to trace the source of information attacks and its consequences can be devastating and cause retaliation, including the use of conventional weapons. In this situation Russian approach, advocating for the development of the rules of conduct of States and demilitarization of information space in order to ensure its safety, seems urgent and relevant with the international situation.

Guiding Future Early Childhood Educators to Reclaim Their Own Play as a Foundation for Becoming Effective Advocates for Children's Play

Science.gov (United States)

Nicholson, Julie; Shimpi, Priya Mariana

2015-01-01

Two case studies describe how two women, enrolled in an undergraduate course on play, were guided to examine play across their lifespan, critique the barriers that led to a decline in their play from childhood to young adulthood, and engage in cycles of documentation, dialogue, and analysis of their adult play experiences in order to discover…

Playing with/as Systems: Short Paper, Discussion and Demonstration

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Michael Straeubig

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Complex phenomena such as play, creativity or innovation are familiar, yet difficult to describe in a systematic manner. In this short article I propose six necessary conditions for any comprehensive description of play. Against this background I discuss my systems-theoretic, constructivist and practice-informed approach to play.

The Role of Theory of Mind on Social Information Processing in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Mediation Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazza, Monica; Mariano, Melania; Peretti, Sara; Masedu, Francesco; Pino, Maria Chiara; Valenti, Marco

2017-05-01

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) show significant impairments in social skills and theory of mind (ToM). The aim of this study was to evaluate ToM and social information processing abilities in 52 children with ASD compared to 55 typically developing (TD) children. A mediation analysis evaluated whether social information processing abilities can be mediated by ToM competences. In our results, children with autism showed a deficit in social skills and ToM components. The innovative results of our study applying mediation analysis demonstrate that ToM plays a key role in the development of social abilities, and the lack of ToM competences in children with autism impairs their competent social behavior.

The importance and possibilities of role playing on children surgery classes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Goremykin I.V.

2014-03-01

Full Text Available This article analyzes the first experience in the implementation into the pedagogical process of one of the methods of active training — role playing. The need for intensification of medical education process is linked primarily to the rapid increase in the volume required to provide students with information and the lack of training time. The analysis showed that the game significantly increases the level of students' knowledge, but require substantial modernization of the educational process.

Explaining How to Play Real-Time Strategy Games

Science.gov (United States)

Metoyer, Ronald; Stumpf, Simone; Neumann, Christoph; Dodge, Jonathan; Cao, Jill; Schnabel, Aaron

Real-time strategy games share many aspects with real situations in domains such as battle planning, air traffic control, and emergency response team management which makes them appealing test-beds for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning. End user annotations could help to provide supplemental information for learning algorithms, especially when training data is sparse. This paper presents a formative study to uncover how experienced users explain game play in real-time strategy games. We report the results of our analysis of explanations and discuss their characteristics that could support the design of systems for use by experienced real-time strategy game users in specifying or annotating strategy-oriented behavior.

Adversarial risk analysis with incomplete information: a level-k approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Rothschild, Casey; McLay, Laura; Guikema, Seth

2012-07-01

This article proposes, develops, and illustrates the application of level-k game theory to adversarial risk analysis. Level-k reasoning, which assumes that players play strategically but have bounded rationality, is useful for operationalizing a Bayesian approach to adversarial risk analysis. It can be applied in a broad class of settings, including settings with asynchronous play and partial but incomplete revelation of early moves. Its computational and elicitation requirements are modest. We illustrate the approach with an application to a simple defend-attack model in which the defender's countermeasures are revealed with a probability less than one to the attacker before he decides on how or whether to attack. © 2011 Society for Risk Analysis.

Social Network Analysis and informal trade

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Walther, Olivier

networks can be applied to better understand informal trade in developing countries, with a particular focus on Africa. The paper starts by discussing some of the fundamental concepts developed by social network analysis. Through a number of case studies, we show how social network analysis can...... illuminate the relevant causes of social patterns, the impact of social ties on economic performance, the diffusion of resources and information, and the exercise of power. The paper then examines some of the methodological challenges of social network analysis and how it can be combined with other...... approaches. The paper finally highlights some of the applications of social network analysis and their implications for trade policies....

The Power of Play: Fostering Creativity and Innovation in Libraries

OpenAIRE

Ann Medaille; Will Kurt; Lisa Kurt

2010-01-01

Play is a powerful method of fostering creativity and innovation in organizations. As libraries confront a rapidly changing information landscape, the need for innovation in meeting user needs is paramount. Libraries can embrace organizational play as a means of stimulating employee creativity and developing innovative products and services. This article discusses the work-play dichotomy, the definition of play, and the Millennial generation’s attitude toward play. Several important character...

Play Matters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sicart (Vila), Miguel Angel

? In Play Matters, Miguel Sicart argues that to play is to be in the world; playing is a form of understanding what surrounds us and a way of engaging with others. Play goes beyond games; it is a mode of being human. We play games, but we also play with toys, on playgrounds, with technologies and design......, but not necessarily fun. Play can be dangerous, addictive, and destructive. Along the way, Sicart considers playfulness, the capacity to use play outside the context of play; toys, the materialization of play--instruments but also play pals; playgrounds, play spaces that enable all kinds of play; beauty...

Negative correlates of computer game play in adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Colwell, J; Payne, J

2000-08-01

There is some concern that playing computer games may be associated with social isolation, lowered self-esteem, and aggression among adolescents. Measures of these variables were included in a questionnaire completed by 204 year eight students at a North London comprehensive school. Principal components analysis of a scale to assess needs fulfilled by game play provided some support for the notion of 'electronic friendship' among boys, but there was no evidence that game play leads to social isolation. Play was not linked to self-esteem in girls, but a negative relationship was obtained between self-esteem and frequency of play in boys. However, self-esteem was not associated with total exposure to game play. Aggression scores were not related to the number of games with aggressive content named among three favourite games, but they were positively correlated with total exposure to game play. A multiple regression analysis revealed that sex and total game play exposure each accounted for a significant but small amount of the variance in aggression scores. The positive correlation between playing computer games and aggression provides some justification for further investigation of the causal hypothesis, and possible methodologies are discussed.

Differential effects of type of keyboard playing task and tempo on surface EMG amplitudes of forearm muscles

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Hyun Ju eChong

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Despite increasing interest in keyboard playing as a strategy for repetitive finger exercises in fine motor skill development and hand rehabilitation, comparative analysis of task-specific finger movements relevant to keyboard playing has been less extensive. This study examined whether there were differences in surface EMG activity levels of forearm muscles associated with different keyboard playing tasks. Results demonstrated higher muscle activity with sequential keyboard playing in a random pattern compared to individuated playing or sequential playing in a successive pattern. Also, the speed of finger movements was found as a factor that affect muscle activity levels, demonstrating that faster tempo elicited significantly greater muscle activity than self-paced tempo. The results inform our understanding of the type of finger movements involved in different types of keyboard playing at different tempi so as to consider the efficacy and fatigue level of keyboard playing as an intervention for amateur pianists or individuals with impaired fine motor skills.

Differential effects of type of keyboard playing task and tempo on surface EMG amplitudes of forearm muscles

Science.gov (United States)

Chong, Hyun Ju; Kim, Soo Ji; Yoo, Ga Eul

2015-01-01

Despite increasing interest in keyboard playing as a strategy for repetitive finger exercises in fine motor skill development and hand rehabilitation, comparative analysis of task-specific finger movements relevant to keyboard playing has been less extensive. This study examined, whether there were differences in surface EMG activity levels of forearm muscles associated with different keyboard playing tasks. Results demonstrated higher muscle activity with sequential keyboard playing in a random pattern compared to individuated playing or sequential playing in a successive pattern. Also, the speed of finger movements was found as a factor that affect muscle activity levels, demonstrating that faster tempo elicited significantly greater muscle activity than self-paced tempo. The results inform our understanding of the type of finger movements involved in different types of keyboard playing at different tempi. This helps to consider the efficacy and fatigue level of keyboard playing tasks when being used as an intervention for amateur pianists or individuals with impaired fine motor skills. PMID:26388798

Girls' Doll Play in Educational, Virtual, Ideological and Market Contexts: A Case Analysis of Controversy

Science.gov (United States)

Reifel, Stuart

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore an example of girls' doll play in contemporary US culture, including its virtual, political, marketing, and other contextual meanings. The narrative that provoked the analysis was a brief news report about a controversial school function--a school fund-raiser fashion show featuring American Girl doll…

Hybrid Information Flow Analysis for Programs with Arrays

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Gergö Barany

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Information flow analysis checks whether certain pieces of (confidential data may affect the results of computations in unwanted ways and thus leak information. Dynamic information flow analysis adds instrumentation code to the target software to track flows at run time and raise alarms if a flow policy is violated; hybrid analyses combine this with preliminary static analysis. Using a subset of C as the target language, we extend previous work on hybrid information flow analysis that handled pointers to scalars. Our extended formulation handles arrays, pointers to array elements, and pointer arithmetic. Information flow through arrays of pointers is tracked precisely while arrays of non-pointer types are summarized efficiently. A prototype of our approach is implemented using the Frama-C program analysis and transformation framework. Work on a full machine-checked proof of the correctness of our approach using Isabelle/HOL is well underway; we present the existing parts and sketch the rest of the correctness argument.

INTERVALS OF ACTIVE PLAY AND BREAK IN BASKETBALL GAMES

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Pavle Rubin

2010-09-01

Full Text Available The problem of the research comes from the need for decomposition of a basketball game. The aim was to determine the intervals of active game (“live ball” - term defined by rules and break (“dead ball” - term defined by rules, by analyzing basketball games. In order to obtain the relevant information, basketball games from five different competitions (top level of quality were analyzed. The sample consists of seven games played in the 2006/2007 season: NCAA Play - Off Final game, Adriatic League finals, ULEB Cup final game, Euroleague (2 games and the NBA league (2 games. The most important information gained by this research is that the average interval of active play lasts approximately 47 seconds, while the average break interval lasts approximately 57 seconds. This information is significant for coaches and should be used in planning the training process.

Information Dissemination Analysis of Different Media towards the Application for Disaster Pre-Warning

OpenAIRE

Zhang, Nan; Huang, Hong; Su, Boni; Zhao, Jinlong; Zhang, Bo

2014-01-01

Knowing the information dissemination mechanisms of different media and having an efficient information dissemination plan for disaster pre-warning plays a very important role in reducing losses and ensuring the safety of human beings. In this paper we established models of information dissemination for six typical information media, including short message service (SMS), microblogs, news portals, cell phones, television, and oral communication. Then, the information dissemination capability ...

Skill-Based and Planned Active Play Versus Free-Play Effects on Fundamental Movement Skills in Preschoolers.

Science.gov (United States)

Roach, Lindsay; Keats, Melanie

2018-01-01

Fundamental movement skill interventions are important for promoting physical activity, but the optimal intervention model for preschool children remains unclear. We compared two 8-week interventions, a structured skill-station and a planned active play approach, to a free-play control condition on pre- and postintervention fundamental movement skills. We also collected data regarding program attendance and perceived enjoyment. We found a significant interaction effect between intervention type and time. A Tukey honest significant difference analysis supported a positive intervention effect showing a significant difference between both interventions and the free-play control condition. There was a significant between-group difference in group attendance such that mean attendance was higher for both the free-play and planned active play groups relative to the structured skill-based approach. There were no differences in attendance between free-play and planned active play groups, and there were no differences in enjoyment ratings between the two intervention groups. In sum, while both interventions led to improved fundamental movement skills, the active play approach offered several logistical advantages. Although these findings should be replicated, they can guide feasible and sustainable fundamental movement skill programs within day care settings.

Learning by Playing with Digital Technology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Benjaminsen, Nana

2006-01-01

This paper presupposes the notion that there is potential for the integration of play into primary and secondary school activities, because it can stimulate and support the formal as well as informal learning that takes place in school. Digital technology could be a driver for this integration...... Construction Games in Schools. The project is an exploration of how elements of play can be integrated in a technology-based learning environment. I will use examples of empirical data gathered during spring 2006 to demonstrate that play can function as a useful learning strategy, and also point out barriers......, because many of children's play activities already takes place on, and through, digital platforms. The focus for this paper is on how playorientated environmental qualities can be used and might change the current school structure. The background for the paper is the PhD project entitled Computer based...

Public Information and African Traditional Communication Delivery ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper is an analysis of how African traditional communication and the literature produced about it portray African traditional communication. The analysis premises an interest to ascertain whether the portrayal is in a perspective showing traditional media as capable of playing expected public information role. Drawing ...

HCI Lessons From PlayStation VR

OpenAIRE

Habgood, Jacob; Wilson, David; Moore, David; Alapont, Sergio

2017-01-01

PlayStation VR has quickly built up a significant user-base of over a million headsets and its own ecosystem of games across a variety of genres. These games form part of a rapidly evolving testing ground for design solutions which can usefully inform HCI design for virtual reality. This paper reviews every PlayStation VR title released in the first three months of its lifecycle in order to identify emerging themes for locomotion. These themes are discussed with respect to the lessons learned...

Baseflow recession analysis in a large shale play: Climate variability and anthropogenic alterations mask effects of hydraulic fracturing

Science.gov (United States)

Arciniega-Esparza, Saúl; Breña-Naranjo, Jose Agustín; Hernández-Espriú, Antonio; Pedrozo-Acuña, Adrián; Scanlon, Bridget R.; Nicot, Jean Philippe; Young, Michael H.; Wolaver, Brad D.; Alcocer-Yamanaka, Victor Hugo

2017-10-01

Water resources development and landscape alteration exert marked impacts on water-cycle dynamics, including areas subjected to hydraulic fracturing (HF) for exploitation of unconventional oil and gas resources found in shale or tight sandstones. Here we apply a conceptual framework for linking baseflow analysis to changes in water demands from different sectors (e.g. oil/gas extraction, irrigation, and municipal consumption) and climatic variability in the semiarid Eagle Ford play in Texas, USA. We hypothesize that, in water-limited regions, baseflow (Qb) changes are partly due (along with climate variability) to groundwater abstraction. For a more realistic assessment, the analysis was conducted in two different sets of unregulated catchments, located outside and inside the Eagle Ford play. Three periods were considered in the analysis related to HF activities: pre-development (1980-2000), moderate (2001-2008) and intensive (2009-2015) periods. Results indicate that in the Eagle Ford play region, temporal changes in baseflow cannot be directly related to the increase in hydraulic fracturing. Instead, substantial baseflow declines during the intensive period of hydraulic fracturing represent the aggregated effects from the combination of: (1) a historical exceptional drought during 2011-2012; (2) increased groundwater-based irrigation; and (3) an intensive hydraulic fracturing activity.

Would you like to play together? Adults' attachment and the mirror game.

Science.gov (United States)

Feniger-Schaal, Rinat; Noy, Lior; Hart, Yuval; Koren-Karie, Nina; Mayo, Avraham E; Alon, Uri

2016-01-01

Why is it easy for some people to play together and difficult for others? In this interdisciplinary pilot study, we looked at dyadic interaction in motion as a paradigm to explore the expression of attachment in adulthood. We used a device that gives simple, quantitative and automated indicators for the quality of interaction while playing the mirror game. Forty-seven participants played the mirror game with the same gender-matched expert players. In addition, participants were interviewed on the Adult Attachment Interview to assess their quality of attachment. Using high resolution kinematic measures, we found that secure attachment was correlated with high complexity of the game and low synchrony compared to insecure attachment. The findings suggest that security of attachment is related to a more exploratory and less rigid game than insecure-dismissing attachment. These preliminary findings imply that high resolution analysis of simple movement interaction could carry information about attachment behavior.

Problematic Game Play: The Diagnostic Value of Playing Motives, Passion, and Playing Time in Men

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Julia Kneer

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Internet gaming disorder is currently listed in the DSM—not in order to diagnose such a disorder but to encourage research to investigate this phenomenon. Even whether it is still questionable if Internet Gaming Disorder exists and can be judged as a form of addiction, problematic game play is already very well researched to cause problems in daily life. Approaches trying to predict problematic tendencies in digital game play have mainly focused on playing time as a diagnostic criterion. However, motives to engage in digital game play and obsessive passion for game play have also been found to predict problematic game play but have not yet been investigated together. The present study aims at (1 analyzing if obsessive passion can be distinguished from problematic game play as separate concepts, and (2 testing motives of game play, passion, and playing time for their predictive values for problematic tendencies. We found (N = 99 males, Age: M = 22.80, SD = 3.81 that obsessive passion can be conceptually separated from problematic game play. In addition, the results suggest that compared to solely playing time immersion as playing motive and obsessive passion have added predictive value for problematic game play. The implications focus on broadening the criteria in order to diagnose problematic playing.

Problematic game play: the diagnostic value of playing motives, passion, and playing time in men.

Science.gov (United States)

Kneer, Julia; Rieger, Diana

2015-04-30

Internet gaming disorder is currently listed in the DSM-not in order to diagnose such a disorder but to encourage research to investigate this phenomenon. Even whether it is still questionable if Internet Gaming Disorder exists and can be judged as a form of addiction, problematic game play is already very well researched to cause problems in daily life. Approaches trying to predict problematic tendencies in digital game play have mainly focused on playing time as a diagnostic criterion. However, motives to engage in digital game play and obsessive passion for game play have also been found to predict problematic game play but have not yet been investigated together. The present study aims at (1) analyzing if obsessive passion can be distinguished from problematic game play as separate concepts, and (2) testing motives of game play, passion, and playing time for their predictive values for problematic tendencies. We found (N = 99 males, Age: M = 22.80, SD = 3.81) that obsessive passion can be conceptually separated from problematic game play. In addition, the results suggest that compared to solely playing time immersion as playing motive and obsessive passion have added predictive value for problematic game play. The implications focus on broadening the criteria in order to diagnose problematic playing.

THE NONLINEAR TRAJECTORY OF CHANGE IN PLAY PROFILES OF THREE CHILDREN IN PSYCHODYNAMIC PLAY THERAPY

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Sibel Halfon

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Aim: Even though there is substantial evidence that play based therapies produce significant change, the specific play processes in treatment remain unexamined. For that purpose, processes of change in long-term psychodynamic play therapy are assessed through a repeated systematic assessment of three children’s Play Profiles, which reflect patterns of organization among play variables that contribute to play activity in therapy, indicative of the children’s coping strategies, and an expression of their internal world. The main aims of the study are to investigate the kinds of Play Profiles expressed in treatment, and to test whether there is emergence of new and more adaptive Play Profiles using dynamic systems theory as a methodological framework.Methods and Procedures: Each session from the long-term psychodynamic treatment (mean number of sessions = 55 of three 6 year old good outcome cases presenting with Separation Anxiety were recorded, transcribed and coded using items from the Children's Play Therapy Instrument, created to assess the play activity of children in psychotherapy, generating discrete and measurable units of play activity arranged along a continuum of four play profiles: Adaptive, Inhibited, Impulsive, and Disorganized. The play profiles were clustered through K-means Algorithm, generating 7 discrete states characterizing the course of treatment and the transitions between these states were analyzed by Markov Transition Matrix, Recurrence Quantification Analysis (RQA and odds ratios comparing the first and second halves of psychotherapy.Results: The Markov Transitions between the states scaled almost perfectly and also showed the ergodicity of the system meaning that the child can reach any state or shift to another one in play. The RQA and odds ratios showed two trends of change, first concerning the decrease in the use of less adaptive strategies, second regarding the reduction of play interruptions.Conclusions: The

Appeal of playing online First Person Shooter Games.

Science.gov (United States)

Jansz, Jeroen; Tanis, Martin

2007-02-01

First Person Shooter Games (FPSG) such as Counter Strike are often the subject of public concern. Surprisingly, there is no published research available about playing these games. We conducted an exploratory Internet survey (n 5 751) in order to gather information about who the players of online first person shooters are, and why they spend time on playing this particular kind of video game. The results of our survey on the one hand confirmed the stereotype of the gamer as it is often presented in popular media: the players of online FPS were indeed almost exclusively young men (mean age about 18 years) who spend a lot of their leisure time on gaming (about 2.6 h per day). We also found that the most committed gamers, that is, the ones who were members of a (semi)professional clan, scored highest on motives with respect to competition, and challenge in comparison with members of amateur clans and online gamers who had not joined a clan. On the other hand, our results cast doubt on the accuracy of the stereotype. This study showed clearly that online FPSG are not played in isolation. More than 80% of our respondents were member of a clan. Also, the regression analysis showed that the social interaction motive was the strongest predictor of the time actually spend on gaming.

The Many Faces of Role-Playing Games

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hitchens, Michael; Drachen, Anders

2009-01-01

Role-playing games have grown and evolved into a large number of forms in the last thirty years, spanning digital as well as non-digital media. They demonstrate a wide variety in the number of participants, style of play and the formal and informal systems that govern them. Despite this diversity...... players at least seem to think they know when something is a role-playing game. Yet there is no commonly accepted definition which both captures games generally accepted as role-playing games and distinguishes them from other, similar, games which begs the question, whether roleplaying games are united...... by anything more than a colloquial name. Additionally, research involving these games is hampered by lack of a widely accepted definition of what constitutes a roleplaying game, as it is then not even possible to clearly delineate the subject of such research. In this paper various example of role-playing...

Mathematical Analysis of Evolution, Information, and Complexity

CERN Document Server

Arendt, Wolfgang

2009-01-01

Mathematical Analysis of Evolution, Information, and Complexity deals with the analysis of evolution, information and complexity. The time evolution of systems or processes is a central question in science, this text covers a broad range of problems including diffusion processes, neuronal networks, quantum theory and cosmology. Bringing together a wide collection of research in mathematics, information theory, physics and other scientific and technical areas, this new title offers elementary and thus easily accessible introductions to the various fields of research addressed in the book.

The use of cold porcelain orthoses to implement the act of playing of a child with motor deficit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marilda Ferraz Santana

2012-06-01

Full Text Available playing of the child with motor deficit. Methods: Applied research, quantitative and qualitative, in the Center for Integrated Healthcare (NAMI in Fortaleza - CE, Brazil. The investigation occurred in the period from February to June 2008. Sample of 22 children, 14 selected in the survey entitled “Reduction in costs for making orthoses” and 8 indicated by professionals. We applied semi-structured interviews with officials, evaluate the play behavior based on the Protocol of Ferland. In the analysis of qualitative information, we used Bardin’s Content Analysis. For quantitative data, we used the statistical treatment of Morettin. Results: The qualitative categories were organized into three: the parents’ opinion about the act of playing of their children, type of toy and improvement in occupationalperformance with the use of orthosis. The quantitative analysis allowed the consolidation of data in tables, after the Behavior Assessment Playful, applied in the beginning and in the end of the study. Conclusions: This study showed, therefore, that the use of “cold porcelain” orthoses interfered, overwhelmingly, both in performing of the act of playing of the children who participated in this research, as well as in occupational performance in various areas, passing by significant changes, bringing value also in the interest, ability to perform an activity and relationships and feelings.

Information architecture. Volume 2, Part 1: Baseline analysis summary

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-12-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) Information Architecture, Volume 2, Baseline Analysis, is a collaborative and logical next-step effort in the processes required to produce a Departmentwide information architecture. The baseline analysis serves a diverse audience of program management and technical personnel and provides an organized way to examine the Department`s existing or de facto information architecture. A companion document to Volume 1, The Foundations, it furnishes the rationale for establishing a Departmentwide information architecture. This volume, consisting of the Baseline Analysis Summary (part 1), Baseline Analysis (part 2), and Reference Data (part 3), is of interest to readers who wish to understand how the Department`s current information architecture technologies are employed. The analysis identifies how and where current technologies support business areas, programs, sites, and corporate systems.

Designing Play for Dark Times

Science.gov (United States)

Yamada-Rice, Dylan

2017-01-01

This article reports on a knowledge-exchange network project that had the core aim of informing the development of a video game for hospitalized children. In order to do this, it brought together hospital play specialists, academics and representatives from the digital games industry to co-produce knowledge that could be used in the future…

Analysis of the brazilian scientific production about information flows

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Danielly Oliveira Inomata

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Objective. This paper presents and discuss the concepts, contexts and applications involving information flows in organizations. Method. Systematic review, followed by a bibliometric analysis and system analysis. The systematic review aimed to search for, evaluate and review evidence about the research topic. The systematic review process comprised the following steps: 1 definition of keywords, 2 systematic review, 3 exploration and analysis of articles and 4 comparison and consolidation of results. Results. A bibliometric analysis aimed to provide a statement of the relevance of articles where the authors, dates of publications, citation index, and periodic keywords with higher occurrence. Conclusions. As survey results confirms the emphasis on information featured in the knowledge management process, and advancing years, it seems that the emphasis is on networks, ie, studies are turning to the operationalization and analysis of flows information networks. The literature produced demonstrates the relationship of information flow with its management, applied to different organizational contexts, including showing new trends in information science as the study and analysis of information flow in networks.

Active Play: Exploring the Influences on Children's School Playground Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Hyndman, Brendon; Benson, Amanda; Telford, Amanda

2016-01-01

Because children spend so much of their time in schools, their playgrounds offer a good setting for promoting active play in young lives. Teachers, instead of considering active play a taxing demand on their busy day, have begun to develop an informal curriculum for it. The authors review the research on children's active play and explores its…

Self-appraisal of hockey players of high class of different playing position

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oleksiy Mikhnov

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Purpose: to expose the features of display of self-appraisal for the hockey players of high class of different playing position. Material and Methods: for the exposure of level of self-appraisal for hockey players, information of sportsmen of high class, taking part in the matches of the Kontinental hockey league (KHL in a season 2013–2014 was probed sixteen hockey players, having a sporting digit MS and MSWC, took part in researches. Methods were used: pedagogical supervision, pedagogical analysis and generalization of front-rank experience, psychological testing, analysis of data of the special scientific-methodical literature, expert questioning, an analysis of data is the Internet. Results: findings allowed to set that the players of line of attack (central and extreme forward have more high level of self-appraisal for certain, than players of defence and hockey goalkeepers. This tendency is looked over both on the separate constituents of self-appraisal and on the whole on all spectrums of the studied indexes. The got results of researches rotined that the hockey players of high class had or middle or high level of self-appraisal. Among testable hockey players, players were not exposed with the low level of self-appraisal. Conclusions: the exposed distinctions in the level of self-appraisal of hockey players of high class can be used for diagnostics of playing predisposition and choice of playing line of business in a command.

Analysis of Movement Acceleration of Down's Syndrome Teenagers Playing Computer Games.

Science.gov (United States)

Carrogi-Vianna, Daniela; Lopes, Paulo Batista; Cymrot, Raquel; Hengles Almeida, Jefferson Jesus; Yazaki, Marcos Lomonaco; Blascovi-Assis, Silvana Maria

2017-12-01

This study aimed to evaluate movement acceleration characteristics in adolescents with Down syndrome (DS) and typical development (TD), while playing bowling and golf videogames on the Nintendo ® Wii™. The sample comprised 21 adolescents diagnosed with DS and 33 with TD of both sexes, between 10 and 14 years of age. The arm swing accelerations of the dominant upper limb were collected as measures during the bowling and the golf games. The first valid measurement, verified by the software readings, recorded at the start of each of the games, was used in the analysis. In the bowling game, the groups presented significant statistical differences, with the maximum (M) peaks of acceleration for the Male Control Group (MCG) (M = 70.37) and Female Control Group (FCG) (M = 70.51) when compared with Male Down Syndrome Group (MDSG) (M = 45.33) and Female Down Syndrome Group (FDSG) (M = 37.24). In the golf game the groups also presented significant statistical differences, the only difference being that the maximum peaks of acceleration for both male groups were superior compared with the female groups, MCG (M = 74.80) and FCG (M = 56.80), as well as in MDSG (M = 45.12) and in FDSG (M = 30.52). It was possible to use accelerometry to evaluate the movement acceleration characteristics of teenagers diagnosed with DS during virtual bowling and golf games played on the Nintendo Wii console.

Pretend Play and the Cultural Foundations of Mathematics

Science.gov (United States)

Worthington, Maulfry; van Oers, Bert

2016-01-01

The aim of this study is to uncover the emergence of cultural mathematical understandings and communications in young children's spontaneous pretend play. It is based on Vygotskian cultural-historical perspectives and social-semiotic theory, informed by research into "funds of knowledge" and considers how children's informal knowledge of…

Automated information retrieval system for radioactivation analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lambrev, V.G.; Bochkov, P.E.; Gorokhov, S.A.; Nekrasov, V.V.; Tolstikova, L.I.

1981-01-01

An automated information retrieval system for radioactivation analysis has been developed. An ES-1022 computer and a problem-oriented software ''The description information search system'' were used for the purpose. Main aspects and sources of forming the system information fund, characteristics of the information retrieval language of the system are reported and examples of question-answer dialogue are given. Two modes can be used: selective information distribution and retrospective search [ru

Playful Invention and Exploration. Final Evaluation Report: Executive Summary

Science.gov (United States)

St. John; Mark; Carroll, Becky; Helms, Jen; Smith, Anita

2008-01-01

PIE (Playful Invention and Exploration) is a unique approach to learning that centers on the use of technology and design challenges to create powerful learning experiences in informal education settings. The Playful Invention and Exploration (PIE) Institute project was funded in 2005 by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Overall, 150…

Structured information analysis for human reliability analysis of emergency tasks in nuclear power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jung, Won Dea; Kim, Jae Whan; Park, Jin Kyun; Ha, Jae Joo [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejeon (Korea)

2000-02-01

More than twenty HRA (Human Reliability Analysis) methodologies have been developed and used for the safety analysis in nuclear field during the past two decades. However, no methodology appears to have universally been accepted, as various limitations have been raised for more widely used ones. One of the most important limitations of conventional HRA is insufficient analysis of the task structure and problem space. To resolve this problem, we suggest SIA (Structured Information Analysis) for HRA. The proposed SIA consists of three parts. The first part is the scenario analysis that investigates the contextual information related to the given task on the basis of selected scenarios. The second is the goals-means analysis to define the relations between the cognitive goal and task steps. The third is the cognitive function analysis module that identifies the cognitive patterns and information flows involved in the task. Through the three-part analysis, systematic investigation is made possible from the macroscopic information on the tasks to the microscopic information on the specific cognitive processes. It is expected that analysts can attain a structured set of information that helps to predict the types and possibility of human error in the given task. 48 refs., 12 figs., 11 tabs. (Author)

Analysis and design of nuclear energy information systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yohanes Dwi Anggoro; Sriyana; Arief Tris Yuliyanto; Wiku Lulus Widodo

2015-01-01

Management of research reports and activities of the Center for Nuclear Energy System Assessment (PKSEN), either in the form of documents and the results of other activities, are important part of the series of activities PKSEN mission achievement. Management of good documents will facilitate the provision of improved inputs or use the maximum results. But over the past few years, there are still some problem in the management of research reports and activities performed by PKSEN. The purpose of this study is to analyze and design flow layout of the Nuclear Energy Information System to facilitate the implementation of the Nuclear Energy Information System. In addition to be used as a research management system and PKSEN activities, it can also be used as information media for the community. Nuclear Energy Information System package is expected to be ''one gate systems for PKSEN information. The research methodology used are: (i) analysis of organizational systems, (ii) the analysis and design of information systems; (iii) the analysis and design of software systems; (iv) the analysis and design of database systems. The results of this study are: had identified and resources throughout the organization PKSEN activation, had analyzed the application of SIEN using SWOT analysis, had identified several types of devices required, had been compiled hierarchy of SIEN, had determined that the database system used is a centralized database system and had elections MySQL as DBMS. The result is a basic design of the Nuclear Energy Information System) which will used as a research and activities management system of PKSEN and also can be used as a medium of information for the community. (author)

Play or science?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lieberoth, Andreas; Pedersen, Mads Kock; Sherson, Jacob

2015-01-01

Crowdscience games may hold unique potentials as learning opportunities compared to games made for fun or education. They are part of an actual science problem solving process: By playing, players help scientists, and thereby interact with real continuous research processes. This mixes the two...... worlds of play and science in new ways. During usability testing we discovered that users of the crowdscience game Quantum Dreams tended to answer questions in game terms, even when directed explicitly to give science explanations. We then examined these competing frames of understanding though a mixed...... correlational and grounded theory analysis. This essay presents the core ideas of crowdscience games as learning opportunities, and reports how a group of players used “game”, “science” and “conceptual” frames to interpret their experience. Our results suggest that oscillating between the frames instead...

Examining Impacts of Organizational Capabilities in Information Security: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Jacqueline Huynh

2011-01-01

In today's modern business world, most organizations use information as a critical business asset to gain competitive advantage and create market value. Increasingly, an organization's ability to protect information assets plays a critical role in its ability to meet regulatory compliance requirements, increase customer trust, preserve brand…

The Non-linear Trajectory of Change in Play Profiles of Three Children in Psychodynamic Play Therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Halfon, Sibel; Çavdar, Alev; Orsucci, Franco; Schiepek, Gunter K; Andreassi, Silvia; Giuliani, Alessandro; de Felice, Giulio

2016-01-01

Aim: Even though there is substantial evidence that play based therapies produce significant change, the specific play processes in treatment remain unexamined. For that purpose, processes of change in long-term psychodynamic play therapy are assessed through a repeated systematic assessment of three children's "play profiles," which reflect patterns of organization among play variables that contribute to play activity in therapy, indicative of the children's coping strategies, and an expression of their internal world. The main aims of the study are to investigate the kinds of play profiles expressed in treatment, and to test whether there is emergence of new and more adaptive play profiles using dynamic systems theory as a methodological framework. Methods and Procedures: Each session from the long-term psychodynamic treatment (mean number of sessions = 55) of three 6-year-old good outcome cases presenting with Separation Anxiety were recorded, transcribed and coded using items from the Children's Play Therapy Instrument (CPTI), created to assess the play activity of children in psychotherapy, generating discrete and measurable units of play activity arranged along a continuum of four play profiles: "Adaptive," "Inhibited," "Impulsive," and "Disorganized." The play profiles were clustered through K -means Algorithm, generating seven discrete states characterizing the course of treatment and the transitions between these states were analyzed by Markov Transition Matrix, Recurrence Quantification Analysis (RQA) and odds ratios comparing the first and second halves of psychotherapy. Results: The Markov Transitions between the states scaled almost perfectly and also showed the ergodicity of the system, meaning that the child can reach any state or shift to another one in play. The RQA and odds ratios showed two trends of change, first concerning the decrease in the use of "less adaptive" strategies, second regarding the reduction of play interruptions. Conclusion

Spontaneous Play and Imagination in Everyday Science Classroom Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Andrée, Maria; Lager-Nyqvist, Lotta

2013-01-01

In science education, students sometimes create and engage in spontaneous science-oriented play where ideas about science and scientists are put to use. However, in previous research, little attention has been given to the role of informal spontaneous play in school science classrooms. We argue that, in order to enhance our understanding of…

A Historical Journey in Science Education through Role Playing

Science.gov (United States)

Guha, Smita

2013-01-01

In order to avoid a routine classroom environment, teachers often employ the use of role-plays. This is an effective strategy because it is essential for teachers to engage their students with information through various methods. Role-playing provides the children with the opportunity to incorporate multiple senses into a knowledge-based, fun…

Play and playfulness, basic features of early childhood education

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Singer, E.

2013-01-01

This article argues that play and playfulness are basic features in early childhood education, but that play curricula can have serious drawbacks. The starting point is the play theory of the Dutch historian Johan Huizinga, a radical critic of the focus on the educational benefits of play. According

Play and playfulness in early childhood education and care.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Singer E.

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Play and playfulness are basic features in early childhood education. The elements of play are pleasure, a sense of freedom, and the co-construction of shared meaning through the use of rules or rhythms. Play and learning are closely related in early childhood. But when the focus on the educational benefits of play becomes too strong, the most essential feature of play is lost: children’s pleasure. Young children in group settings often have to adapt to the teachers’ demands related to security, hygiene, and social norms and values. But the playfulness of the teachers helps to overcome differences in power in the caregiver-child relationship and prevents young children from becoming overburdened with strict rules and group discipline. Play and playfulness are a resource of shared pleasure and creativity in learning processes.

Benefit analysis of proposed information systems

OpenAIRE

Besore, Mark H.

1991-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited This thesis reviewed two different approaches to benefit analysis, benefit comparison and user satisfaction, that could be applied to the evaluation of proposed information systems which are under consideration for acquisition by the federal government. Currently the General Services Administration only recommends that present value analysis methods be used in the analysis of alternatives even though the GSA specifies...

Crime analysis using open source information

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nizamani, Sarwat; Memon, Nasrullah; Shah, Azhar Ali

2015-01-01

In this paper, we present a method of crime analysis from open source information. We employed un-supervised methods of data mining to explore the facts regarding the crimes of an area of interest. The analysis is based on well known clustering and association techniques. The results show...

Are medical treatments for individuals and groups like single-play and multiple-play gambles?

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Michael L. DeKay

2006-11-01

Full Text Available People are often more likely to accept risky monetary gambles with positive expected values when the gambles will be played more than once. We investigated whether this distinction between single-play and multiple-play gambles extends to medical treatments for individual patients and groups of patients. Resident physicians and medical students (extit{n} = 69 and undergraduates (extit{n} = 99 ranked 9 different flu shots and a no-flu-shot option in 1 of 4 combinations of perspective (individual patient vs. group of 1000 patients and uncertainty frame (probability vs. frequency. The rank of the no-flu-shot option (a measure of preference for treatment vs. no treatment was not significantly related to perspective or participant population. The main effect of uncertainty frame and the interaction between perspective and uncertainty frame approached significance (0.1 {extgreater} extit{p} {extgreater} 0.05, with the no-flu-shot option faring particularly poorly (treatment faring particularly well when decisions about many patients were based on frequency information. Undergraduate participants believed that the no-flu-shot option would be less attractive (treatment would be more attractive in decisions about many patients, but these intuitions were inconsistent with the actual ranks. These results and those of other studies suggest that medical treatments for individuals and groups are not analogous to single-play and multiple-play monetary gambles, perhaps because many people are unwilling to aggregate treatment outcomes over patients in the same way that they would compute net gains or losses over monetary gambles.

[From fantasy to reality: understanding the way of playing of institutionalized children victims of violence through therapeutic play].

Science.gov (United States)

Giacomello, Karina Jorgino; Melo, Luciana de Lione

2011-01-01

This qualitative research is based on the reference framework of Phenomenology--analysis of the structure of the situated phenomenon, and aims to understand institutionalized children victims of violence through therapeutic play sessions. Participants were three sheltered children of preschool age, one boy and two goals. The therapeutic play sessions of the drama type were held in a reserved place and ranged from 30 to 50 minutes, using the following guiding proposal: "Let us play that we are children who live at the shelter?" Two broad theme categories could be captured: playing and pretending and playing and reality. When they are pretending while playing, sometimes calmly, sometimes violently, the children brought contents that evidenced situations in their daily family reality. When they expose their reality, the children addressed questions about the shelter institution and the bond with these professionals and with the relatives. It can be affirmed that therapeutic play allowed for the children's effective communication by expressing their feelings, desires, experiences, criticism against the environment they live in and family relations, besides permitting a moment of pleasure and relaxation.

Playful Membership

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Åkerstrøm Andersen, Niels; Pors, Justine Grønbæk

2014-01-01

This article studies the implications of current attempts by organizations to adapt to a world of constant change by introducing the notion of playful organizational membership. To this end we conduct a brief semantic history of organizational play and argue that when organizations play, employees...... are expected to engage in playful exploration of alternative selves. Drawing on Niklas Luhmann's theory of time and decision-making and Gregory Bateson's theory of play, the article analyses three empirical examples of how games play with conceptions of time. We explore how games represent an organizational...

Role-play as an educational tool in medication communication skills: Students' perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Lavanya, S H; Kalpana, L; Veena, R M; Bharath Kumar, V D

2016-10-01

Medication communication skills are vital aspects of patient care that may influence treatment outcomes. However, traditional pharmacology curriculum deals with imparting factual information, with little emphasis on patient communication. The current study aims to explore students' perceptions of role-play as an educational tool in acquiring communication skills and to ascertain the need of role-play for their future clinical practice. This questionnaire-based study was done in 2 nd professional MBBS students. A consolidated concept of six training cases, focusing on major communication issues related to medication prescription in pharmacology, were developed for peer-role-play sessions for 2 nd professional MBBS ( n = 122) students. Structured scripts with specific emphasis on prescription medication communication and checklists for feedback were developed. Prevalidated questionnaires measured the quantitative aspects of role-plays in relation to their relevance as teaching-learning tool, perceived benefits of sessions, and their importance for future use. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics. The role-play concept was well appreciated and considered an effective means for acquiring medication communication skills. The structured feedback by peers and faculty was well received by many. Over 90% of the students reported immense confidence in communicating therapy details, namely, drug name, purpose, mechanism, dosing details, and precautions. Majority reported a better retention of pharmacology concepts and preferred more such sessions. Most students consider peer-role-play as an indispensable tool to acquire effective communication skills regarding drug therapy. By virtue of providing experiential learning opportunities and its feasibility of implementation, role-play sessions justify inclusion in undergraduate medical curricula.

Performance analysis of supply chains under customer demand information sharing using role play game

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. Chinna Pamulety

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Supply chain is a network of organizations that work together and performs various business functions such as procurement of raw materials, converting the raw material into semi-finished or finished goods and distributing the same to their ultimate customers. Presence of bullwhip effect in a supply chain is costly and degrades the performance of the supply chain. Reduction in bullwhip effect can improve the efficiency or profitability of a supply chain. The objective of this paper is to know the impact of imperfect Advance Demand Information (ADI sharing on bullwhip effect in a four-stage serial supply chain and to evaluate the supply chain performance by conducting an experiment similar to the beer distribution game. The performance measures used are variance of orders placed by each stage, fill rate, total inventory at each stage and total holding cost of the supply chain. Results show that imperfect ADI improves the performance of the supply chain. The performance of the supply chain is also evaluated under order up to level (R, S policy with safety stock and it is found that the performance of supply chain is better when inventory policy used.

Creative and Playful Learning: Learning through Game Co-Creation and Games in a Playful Learning Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Kangas, Marjaana

2010-01-01

This paper reports on a pilot study in which children aged 7-12 (N = 68) had an opportunity to study in a novel formal and informal learning setting. The learning activities were extended from the classroom to the playful learning environment (PLE), an innovative playground enriched by technological tools. Curriculum-based learning was intertwined…

Innovations in Play Therapy: Issues, Process, and Special Populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Landreth, Garry L., Ed.

This book is a compilation of discussions on current issues in play therapy. It is designed to help therapists fill in the gaps about working with special populations, which is often not directly addressed in other play therapy resources. The object of the book is to bring together information related to issues and dynamics of the process of this…

Rugby headgear and concussion prevention: misconceptions could increase aggressive play.

Science.gov (United States)

Menger, Richard; Menger, Austin; Nanda, Anil

2016-04-01

OBJECTIVE Multiple studies have illustrated that rugby headgear offers no statistically significant protection against concussions. However, there remains concern that many players believe rugby headgear in fact does prevent concussions. Further investigation was undertaken to illustrate that misconceptions about concussion prevention and rugby headgear may lead to an increase in aggressive play. METHODS Data were constructed by Internet survey solicitation among United States collegiate rugby players across 19 teams. Initial information given was related to club, age, experience, use of headgear, playing time, whether the rugger played football or wrestling in high school, and whether the player believed headgear prevented concussion. Data were then constructed as to whether wearing headgear would increase aggressive playing style secondary to a false sense of protection. RESULTS A total of 122 players responded. All players were male. The average player was 19.5 years old and had 2.7 years of experience. Twenty-three of 122 players (18.9%) wore protective headgear; 55.4% of players listed forward as their primary position. Overall, 45.8% (55/120) of players played 70-80 minutes per game, 44.6% (54/121) played football or wrestled in high school, 38.1% (45/118) believed headgear prevented concussions, and 42.2% (51/121) stated that if they were using headgear they would be more aggressive with their play in terms of running or tackling. Regression analysis illustrated that those who believed headgear prevented concussions were or would be more likely to engage in aggressive play (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Nearly 40% of collegiate rugby players surveyed believed headgear helped to prevent concussions despite no scientific evidence that it does. This misconception about rugby headgear could increase aggressive play. Those who believed headgear prevented concussion were, on average, 4 times more likely to play with increased aggressive form than those who believed

How Did the Information Flow in the #AlphaGo Hashtag Network? A Social Network Analysis of the Large-Scale Information Network on Twitter.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jinyoung

2017-12-01

As it becomes common for Internet users to use hashtags when posting and searching information on social media, it is important to understand who builds a hashtag network and how information is circulated within the network. This article focused on unlocking the potential of the #AlphaGo hashtag network by addressing the following questions. First, the current study examined whether traditional opinion leadership (i.e., the influentials hypothesis) or grassroot participation by the public (i.e., the interpersonal hypothesis) drove dissemination of information in the hashtag network. Second, several unique patterns of information distribution by key users were identified. Finally, the association between attributes of key users who exerted great influence on information distribution (i.e., the number of followers and follows) and their central status in the network was tested. To answer the proffered research questions, a social network analysis was conducted using a large-scale hashtag network data set from Twitter (n = 21,870). The results showed that the leading actors in the network were actively receiving information from their followers rather than serving as intermediaries between the original information sources and the public. Moreover, the leading actors played several roles (i.e., conversation starters, influencers, and active engagers) in the network. Furthermore, the number of their follows and followers were significantly associated with their central status in the hashtag network. Based on the results, the current research explained how the information was exchanged in the hashtag network by proposing the reciprocal model of information flow.

Between Anthropocentrism and Anthropomorphism: A Corpus-Based Analysis of Animal Comparisons in Shakespeare’s Plays

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Postolea Sorina

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The assertion of the centrality and supremacy of man, or rather, of the idea(l of humanity, during the Renaissance period, inevitably entailed the repudiation of the animal and the beginning of the great human-animal divide. What was seen, at the time, as the re-birth of man, was also the birth of a rampant anthropocentrism which, until the recent so-called “animal turn”“ in critical and literary studies went unquestioned. Taking this into account, one would expect to find an almost exclusive focus on the human or what is/was perceived as being human in most works from that period. Yet, surprisingly, throughout Shakespeare‘s plays, one encounters a plethora of figures of animality leaping, running, crawling, flying, swimming, or advancing, as Derrida would say, “à pas de loup”“. From dogs, bears, lions, apes and foxes to birds, fish, worms and reptiles, Shakespeare the humanist paradoxically unfolds a veritable bestiary of nonhuman presences. Using corpus-based analysis that focuses on animal similes built with the preposition “like”“ and a critical angle largely informed by posthumanist theory, we take a closer look at the forms, roles and functions of both nonhuman and human animality in Shakespeare, as well as the intricate relationship between anthropocentrism and anthropomorphism.

Motivations to play specifically predict excessive involvement in massively multiplayer online role-playing games: evidence from an online survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Zanetta Dauriat, Francesca; Zermatten, Ariane; Billieux, Joël; Thorens, Gabriel; Bondolfi, Guido; Zullino, Daniele; Khazaal, Yasser

2011-01-01

Several studies have linked massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) with possible problematic usage or internet addiction. The main goal of the present study was to assess links between motivations to play in MMORPGs and addictive involvement in such types of games. A total of 696 gamers responded to an online survey. Five distinct motivations to play were identified in gamers: achievement, socializing, immersion, relaxing and escaping. Multiple regression analysis revealed that addictive MMORPG use patterns are predicted by achievement, escapism and socializing motives. Gender was also a significant predictor of problematic involvement in MMORPGs. Moreover, addictive MMORPG use positively correlated with the weekly time devoted to playing MMORPGs. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Security analysis and improvement of a privacy authentication scheme for telecare medical information systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Fan; Xu, Lili

2013-08-01

Nowadays, patients can gain many kinds of medical service on line via Telecare Medical Information Systems(TMIS) due to the fast development of computer technology. So security of communication through network between the users and the server is very significant. Authentication plays an important part to protect information from being attacked by malicious attackers. Recently, Jiang et al. proposed a privacy enhanced scheme for TMIS using smart cards and claimed their scheme was better than Chen et al.'s. However, we have showed that Jiang et al.'s scheme has the weakness of ID uselessness and is vulnerable to off-line password guessing attack and user impersonation attack if an attacker compromises the legal user's smart card. Also, it can't resist DoS attack in two cases: after a successful impersonation attack and wrong password input in Password change phase. Then we propose an improved mutual authentication scheme used for a telecare medical information system. Remote monitoring, checking patients' past medical history record and medical consultant can be applied in the system where information transmits via Internet. Finally, our analysis indicates that the suggested scheme overcomes the disadvantages of Jiang et al.'s scheme and is practical for TMIS.

Word Play: Scaffolding Language Development through Child-Directed Play

Science.gov (United States)

Wasik, Barbara A.; Jacobi-Vessels, Jill L.

2017-01-01

Play is an important activity in young children's lives. It is how children explore their world and build knowledge. Although free play, which is play that is totally child directed, contributes to children's learning, self-regulation and motivation, adults' participation in children's play is critical in their development, especially their…

A Comparative Analysis of University Information Systems within the Scope of the Information Security Risks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rustu Yilmaz

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Universities are the leading institutions that are the sources of educated human population who both produce information and ensure to develop new products and new services by using information effectively, and who are needed in every area. Therefore, universities are expected to be institutions where information and information management are used efficiently. In the present study, the topics such as infrastructure, operation, application, information, policy and human-based information security at universities were examined within the scope of the information security standards which are highly required and intended to be available at each university today, and then a comparative analysis was conducted specific to Turkey. Within the present study, the Microsoft Security Assessment Tool developed by Microsoft was used as the risk analysis tool. The analyses aim to enable the universities to compare their information systems with the information systems of other universities within the scope of the information security awareness, and to make suggestions in this regard.

Play Therapy

Science.gov (United States)

Lawver, Timothy; Blankenship, Kelly

2008-01-01

Play therapy is a treatment modality in which the therapist engages in play with the child. Its use has been documented in a variety of settings and with a variety of diagnoses. Treating within the context of play brings the therapist and the therapy to the level of the child. By way of an introduction to this approach, a case is presented of a six-year-old boy with oppositional defiant disorder. The presentation focuses on the events and interactions of a typical session with an established patient. The primary issues of the session are aggression, self worth, and self efficacy. These themes manifest themselves through the content of the child’s play and narration of his actions. The therapist then reflects these back to the child while gently encouraging the child toward more positive play. Though the example is one of nondirective play therapy, a wide range of variation exists under the heading of play therapy. PMID:19724720

Marmosets, Raree shows and Pulcinelle: an Analysis and Edition of a Hitherto-Unpublished Carnival Play by Antonio de Zamora

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Fernando Plata

2013-05-01

Full Text Available This paper is an analyisis, annotation and edition of the Mojiganga del mundinovo (‘The raree show, a carnival play’ by Antonio de Zamora. The play was performed in 1698 Madrid by the troupe of Carlos Vallejo, along with the sacramental one-act play El templo vivo de Dios (‘The living temple of God’. The hitherto unpublished text is based on the only two extant manuscripts, located in archives in Madrid. Despite the play’s title, my analysis argues that the novelty in this play is not so much the raree show, a contraption popularized four decades earlier in Golden Age theater, as the marmosets. The death of two marmosets and the ensuing desolation of their owner, Ms. Estupenda, both trigger the play and provide it with a plot. The marmosets, too, point to a changing mentality in late 17th-century society, regarding the possession among ladies of marmosets and other monkeys as pets.

Cancer Patients' Informational Needs: Qualitative Content Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Heidari, Haydeh; Mardani-Hamooleh, Marjan

2016-12-01

Understanding the informational needs of cancer patients is a requirement to plan any educative care program for them. The aim of this study was to identify Iranian cancer patients' perceptions of informational needs. The study took a qualitative approach. Semi-structured interviews were held with 25 cancer patients in two teaching hospitals in Iran. Transcripts of the interviews underwent conventional content analysis, and categories were extracted. The results came under two main categories: disease-related informational needs and information needs related to daily life. Disease-related informational needs had two subcategories: obtaining information about the nature of disease and obtaining information about disease prognosis. Information needs related to daily life also had two subcategories: obtaining information about healthy lifestyle and obtaining information about regular activities of daily life. The findings provide deep understanding of cancer patients' informational needs in Iran.

A Strategic Analysis of Information Sharing Among Cyber Attackers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kjell Hausken

2015-10-01

Full Text Available We build a game theory model where the market design is such that one firm invests in security to defend against cyber attacks by two hackers. The firm has an asset, which is allocated between the three market participants dependent on their contest success. Each hacker chooses an optimal attack, and they share information with each other about the firm’s vulnerabilities. Each hacker prefers to receive information, but delivering information gives competitive advantage to the other hacker. We find that each hacker’s attack and information sharing are strategic complements while one hacker’s attack and the other hacker’s information sharing are strategic substitutes. As the firm’s unit defense cost increases, the attack is inverse U-shaped and reaches zero, while the firm’s defense and profit decrease, and the hackers’ information sharing and profit increase. The firm’s profit increases in the hackers’ unit cost of attack, while the hackers’ information sharing and profit decrease. Our analysis also reveals the interesting result that the cumulative attack level of the hackers is not affected by the effectiveness of information sharing between them and moreover, is also unaffected by the intensity of joint information sharing. We also find that as the effectiveness of information sharing between hackers increases relative to the investment in attack, the firm’s investment in cyber security defense and profit are constant, the hackers’ investments in attacks decrease, and information sharing levels and hacker profits increase. In contrast, as the intensity of joint information sharing increases, while the firm’s investment in cyber security defense and profit remain constant, the hackers’ investments in attacks increase, and the hackers’ information sharing levels and profits decrease. Increasing the firm’s asset causes all the variables to increase linearly, except information sharing which is constant. We extend

Design for Play

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Feder, Karen

2017-01-01

Abstract The purpose of the new Design for Play initiative is to inspire and educate designers to design for the future of play. To create “play ambassadors” equipped with excellent tools, methods, approaches and mind-sets to design for the playful human being in an ever-changing world. To teach...... and inspire children to grow up to be creative designers of their own life and the world around them. The Design for Play research team will study the interplay between people, processes and products in design for play and support the development of playful designers, playful solutions and playful experiences...

Exploring health information technology education: an analysis of the research.

Science.gov (United States)

Virgona, Thomas

2012-01-01

This article is an analysis of the Health Information Technology Education published research. The purpose of this study was to examine selected literature using variables such as journal frequency, keyword analysis, universities associated with the research and geographic diversity. The analysis presented in this paper has identified intellectually significant studies that have contributed to the development and accumulation of intellectual wealth of Health Information Technology. The keyword analysis suggests that Health Information Technology research has evolved from establishing concepts and domains of health information systems, technology and management to contemporary issues such as education, outsourcing, web services and security. The research findings have implications for educators, researchers, journal.

A Concept Analysis of Fully Informed: Breastfeeding Promotion

Science.gov (United States)

2005-12-21

updated breastfeeding policy statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics 3 ( AAP , 2005) identified the compelling advantages of breastfeeding and urged...healthcare 4 professionals to implement principles to promote breastfeeding . The AAP cited obstacles 5 to the initiation and continuation of...Analysis of Fully Informed 2 14 A Concept Analysis of Fully Informed: Breastfeeding Promotion 15 In February 2005, the American Academy of Pediatrics ( AAP

FairyPlay

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Toft, Herdis

2018-01-01

in a play culture where children recycle them in transmitted, transformed and transgressive modes. His fairy tales function as raw materials – trash – for play-production, and these contemporary children muddle, mingle, remix their formulas and elements with other materials and adjust them to a play context......Hans Christian Andersen is a cultural icon in the Danish community, and his fairy tales are canonized as treasured Danish cultural heritage. However, situated as they are today in a crosscultural mix between folklore, booklore and medialore, they also may be analysed as useful, treasured trash...... through improvisations. So they perform what we shall name FairyPlay - just like Hans Christian Andersen himself did. We show Hans Christian Andersen as an intimate connoisseur of play culture, a homo ludens, a trash-sculptor and a thing-finder, like Pippi Longstocking and like children in play. Examples...

Change detection in bi-temporal data by canonical information analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Allan Aasbjerg; Vestergaard, Jacob Schack

2015-01-01

combinations with the information theoretical measure mutual information (MI). We term this type of analysis canonical information analysis (CIA). MI allows for the actual joint distribution of the variables involved and not just second order statistics. Where CCA is ideal for Gaussian data, CIA facilitates...

Play as Freedom : Implications for ICT4D

OpenAIRE

Ferreira, Pedro

2015-01-01

Information and Communication Tech nologies for Development (ICT4D) deals with understanding the relationship between modern technology use and social and economic development. While play may not appear as an immediate concern to the field, a recent body of work has emerged questioning the role of play in ICT4D and the reasons behind its apparent dismissal. Some have even argued that aspects of pleasure and enjoyment get only marginal treatment within academic studies of technology more gener...

Return to play in elite rugby union: application of global positioning system technology in return-to-running programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Reid, Laura C; Cowman, Jason R; Green, Brian S; Coughlan, Garrett F

2013-05-01

Global positioning systems (GPS) are widely used in sport settings to evaluate the physical demands on players in training and competition. The use of these systems in the design and implementation of rehabilitation and return-to-running programs has not yet been elucidated. To demonstrate the application of GPS technology in the management of return to play in elite-club Rugby Union. Case series. Professional Rugby Union club team. 8 elite Rugby Union players (age 27.86 ± 4.78 y, height 1.85 ± 0.08 m, weight 99.14 ± 9.96 kg). Players wore GPS devices for the entire duration of a club game. Variables of locomotion speed and distance were measured. Differences in physical demands between playing positions were observed for all variables. An analysis of the position-specific physical demands measured by GPS provides key information regarding the level and volume of loads sustained by a player in a game environment. Using this information, sports-medicine practitioners can develop rehabilitation and return-to-running protocols specific to the player position to optimize safe return to play.

Play Therapy: Facilitative Use of Child's Play in Elementary School Counseling.

Science.gov (United States)

Landreth, Garry L.

1987-01-01

Reviews five major developments in play therapy: psychoanalysis, release therapy, relationship therapy, nondirective therapy, and play therapy in school settings. Suggests ways school counselors can use play therapy. Describes play therapy facilities, location selection, and play materials. Lists objectives of play therapy and how teachers can aid…

[Comparative analysis of the efficacy of a playful-narrative program to teach mathematics at pre-school level].

Science.gov (United States)

Gil Llario, M D; Vicent Catalá, Consuelo

2009-02-01

Comparative analysis of the efficacy of a playful-narrative program to teach mathematics at pre-school level. In this paper, the effectiveness of a programme comprising several components that are meant to consolidate mathematical concepts and abilities at the pre-school level is analyzed. The instructional methodology of this programme is compared to other methodologies. One-hundred 5-6 year-old children made up the sample that was distributed in the following conditions: (1) traditional methodology; (2) methodology with perceptual and manipulative components, and (3) methodology with language and playful components. Mathematical competence was assessed with the Mathematical Criterial Pre-school Test and the subtest of quantitative-numeric concepts of BADyG. Participants were evaluated before and after the academic course during which they followed one of these methodologies. The results show that the programme with language and playful components is more effective than the traditional methodology (p<.000) and also more effective than the perceptual and manipulative methodology (p<.000). Implications of the results for instructional practices are analyzed.

How Players Lose Interest in Playing a Game

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bauckhage, Christian; Kersting, Kristian; Sifa, Rafet

2012-01-01

introduce methods from random process theory into game data mining in order to draw inferences about player engagement. Given large samples (over 250,000 players) of behavioral telemetry data from five different action-adventure and shooter games, we extract information as to how long individual players......Analyzing telemetry data of player behavior in computer games is a topic of increasing interest for industry and research, alike. When applied to game telemetry data, pattern recognition and statistical analysis provide valuable business intelligence tools for game development. An important problem...... in this area is to characterize how player engagement in a game evolves over time. Reliable models are of pivotal interest since they allow for assessing the long-term success of game products and can provide estimates of how long players may be expected to keep actively playing a game. In this paper, we...

Find the Hidden Object. Understanding Play in Psychological Assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Fasulo, Alessandra; Shukla, Janhavi; Bennett, Stephanie

2017-01-01

Standardized psychological assessments are extensively used by practitioners to determine rate and level of development in different domains of ability in both typical and atypical children. The younger the children, the more likely the trials will resemble play activities. However, mode of administration, timing and use of objects involved are constrained. The purpose of this study is to explore what kind of play is play in psychological assessments, what are the expectations about children's performance and what are the abilities supporting the test activities. Conversation Analysis (CA) was applied to the videorecording of an interaction between a child and a practitioner during the administration of the Bayley Scale of Infant and Toddler Development, III edition. The analysis focuses on a 2'07″ long sequence relative to the administration of the test item "Find the hidden object" to a 23 months old child with Down syndrome. The analysis of the sequence shows that the assessor promotes the child's engagement by couching the actions required to administer the item in utterances with marked child-directed features. The analysis also shows that the objects constituting the test item did not suggest to the child a unique course of action, leading to the assessor's modeling of the successful sequence. We argue that when a play frame is activated by an interactional partner, the relational aspect of the activity is foregrounded and the co-player becomes a source of cues for ways in which playing can develop. We discuss the assessment interaction as orienting the child toward a right-or-wrong interpretation, leaving the realm of play, which is inherently exploratory and inventive, to enter that of instructional activities. Finally, we argue that the sequential analysis of the interaction and of the mutual sense-making procedures that partners put in place during the administration of an assessment could be used in the design and evaluation of tests for a finer

Mediatized play

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johansen, Stine Liv

Children’s play must nowadays be understood as a mediatized field in society and culture. Media – understood in a very broad sense - holds severe explanatory power in describing and understanding the practice of play, since play happens both with, through and inspired by media of different sorts........ In this presentation the case of ‘playing soccer’ will be outlined through its different mediated manifestations, including soccer games and programs on TV, computer games, magazines, books, YouTube videos and soccer trading cards....

Low Temperature Geothermal Play Fairway Analysis For The Appalachian Basin: Phase 1 Revised Report November 18, 2016

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jordan, Teresa E. [Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States); Richards, Maria C. [Southern Methodist Univ., Dallas, TX (United States); Horowitz, Franklin G. [Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States); Camp, Erin [Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States); Smith, Jared D. [Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States); Whealton, Calvin A. [Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States); Stedinger, Jery R. [Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States); Hornbach, Matthew J. [Southern Methodist Univ., Dallas, TX (United States); Frone, Zachary S. [Southern Methodist Univ., Dallas, TX (United States); Tester, Jefferson W. [Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States); Anderson, Brian [West Virginia Univ., Morgantown, WV (United States); Welcker, Kelydra [West Virginia Univ., Morgantown, WV (United States); Chickering Pace, Catherine [Southern Methodist Univ., Dallas, TX (United States); He, Xiaoning [West Virginia Univ., Morgantown, WV (United States); Magnani, Maria Beatrice [Southern Methodist Univ., Dallas, TX (United States); Bolat, Rahmi [Southern Methodist Univ., Dallas, TX (United States)

2016-11-18

Geothermal energy is an attractive sustainable energy source. Yet project developers need confirmation of the resource base to warrant their time and financial resources. The Geothermal Play Fairway Analysis of the Appalachian Basin evaluated risk metrics that communicate the favorability of potential low-temperature geothermal energy resources in reservoirs more than 1000 m below the surface. This analysis is focused on the direct use of the heat, rather than on electricity production. Four risk factors of concern for direct-use geothermal plays in the Appalachian Basin portions of New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia are examined individually, and then in combination: 1) thermal resource quality, 2) natural reservoir quality, 3) induced seismicity, and 4) utilization opportunities. Uncertainty in the risk estimation is quantified. Based on these metrics, geothermal plays in the Appalachian Basin were identified as potentially viable for a variety of direct-use-heat applications. The methodologies developed in this project may be applied in other sedimentary basins as a foundation for low temperature (50-150 °C), direct use geothermal resource, risk, and uncertainty assessment. Three methods with which to combine the four risk factors were used. Among these, the averaging of the individual risk factors indicates the most favorable counties within the study area are the West Virginia counties of Monongalia, Harrison, Lewis (dubbed the Morgantown–Clarksburg play fairway), Putnam, and Kanawha (Charleston play fairway), the New York counties of Chemung and Steuben plus adjacent Bradford county in Pennsylvania (Corning–Ithaca play fairway), and the Pennsylvania counties of Mercer, Crawford, Erie, and Warren, and adjacent Chautauqua county in New York (together, the Meadville–Jamestown play fairway). These higher priority regions are surrounded by broader medium priority zones. Also worthy of additional exploration is a broad region near Pittsburgh

The informational subject in the contemporary context. An analysis from the epistemology of informational community identity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miguel Angel Rendón-Rojas

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The Epistemology of Informational Community Identity (ECI-I is proposed as a toolbox for the analysis of informational reality within categories as contextual paradigm, informational subject and informational entity, built ex profeso for this theoretical-methodological analysis. The concepts of information user´s and informational subject are distinguished, the latest, to seek an answer from a concrete social enclave within a particular community and its interrelationships with others, to under go a process of self construction, from which specific information needs arise. And the user needs to seek concrete answer after formal questioning many facts occurring in a consumerist, unequal and alienating world. So the emphasis is put on the need for an interdisciplinary approach between social theory and library science in the study of the documentary information world of particular informational subjects, which is often marginalized and excluded

Role-playing for more realistic technical skills training.

Science.gov (United States)

Nikendei, C; Zeuch, A; Dieckmann, P; Roth, C; Schäfer, S; Völkl, M; Schellberg, D; Herzog, W; Jünger, J

2005-03-01

Clinical skills are an important and necessary part of clinical competence. Simulation plays an important role in many fields of medical education. Although role-playing is common in communication training, there are no reports about the use of student role-plays in the training of technical clinical skills. This article describes an educational intervention with analysis of pre- and post-intervention self-selected student survey evaluations. After one term of skills training, a thorough evaluation showed that the skills-lab training did not seem very realistic nor was it very demanding for trainees. To create a more realistic training situation and to enhance students' involvement, case studies and role-plays with defined roles for students (i.e. intern, senior consultant) were introduced into half of the sessions. Results of the evaluation in the second term showed that sessions with role-playing were rated significantly higher than sessions without role-playing.

Value of information analysis for corrective action unit No. 98: Frenchman Flat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-06-01

A value of information analysis has been completed as part of the corrective action process for Frenchman Flat, the first Nevada Test Site underground test area to be scheduled for the corrective action process. A value of information analysis is a cost-benefit analysis applied to the acquisition of new information which is needed to reduce the uncertainty in the prediction of a contaminant boundary surrounding underground nuclear tests in Frenchman Flat. The boundary location will be established to protect human health and the environment from the consequences of using contaminated groundwater on the Nevada Test Site. Uncertainties in the boundary predictions are assumed to be the result of data gaps. The value of information analysis in this document compares the cost of acquiring new information with the benefit of acquiring that information during the corrective action investigation at Frenchman Flat. Methodologies incorporated into the value of information analysis include previous geological modeling, groundwater flow modeling, contaminant transport modeling, statistics, sensitivity analysis, uncertainty analysis, and decision analysis

Play at Work

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meier Sørensen, Bent; Spoelstra, Sverre

2012-01-01

The interest in organizational play is growing, both in popular business discourse and organization studies. As the presumption that play is dysfunctional for organizations is increasingly discarded, the existing positions may be divided into two camps; one proposes ‘serious play’ as an engine fo...... workplaces engage in play: play as a (serious) continuation of work, play as a (critical) intervention into work and play as an (uninvited) usurpation of work....

Playful Interaction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2003-01-01

The video Playful Interaction describes a future architectural office, and envisions ideas and concepts for playful interactions between people, materials and appliances in a pervasive and augmented working environment. The video both describes existing developments, technologies and designs...... as well as ideas not yet implemented such as playful modes of interaction with an augmented ball. Playful Interaction has been used as a hybrid of a vision video and a video prototype (1). Externally the video has been used to visualising our new ideas, and internally the video has also worked to inspire...

The role of play themes in non-directive play therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Ryan, Virginia; Edge, Andrew

2012-07-01

Describing the processes underlying play therapy is important for evidence based practice in child therapy. Employing play themes to describe children's play session contents is in widespread use by practitioners, but an adequate classification of these themes for non-directive play therapy practice has not yet been established. This article sets out to fill this gap by first describing how themes can be distinguished and distilled from the contents of play therapy contents. Second, a classification of main themes and sub-themes with exemplars to illustrate these concepts which is compatible with non-directive play therapy practice is set out. Finally a pilot project with experienced play therapists to test this classification in practice is suggested, along with the research questions that will need to be investigated in the shorter and longer terms.

Information Retrieval Using Hadoop Big Data Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Motwani, Deepak; Madan, Madan Lal

This paper concern on big data analysis which is the cognitive operation of probing huge amounts of information in an attempt to get uncovers unseen patterns. Through Big Data Analytics Applications such as public and private organization sectors have formed a strategic determination to turn big data into cut throat benefit. The primary occupation of extracting value from big data give rise to a process applied to pull information from multiple different sources; this process is known as extract transforms and lode. This paper approach extract information from log files and Research Paper, awareness reduces the efforts for blueprint finding and summarization of document from several positions. The work is able to understand better Hadoop basic concept and increase the user experience for research. In this paper, we propose an approach for analysis log files for finding concise information which is useful and time saving by using Hadoop. Our proposed approach will be applied on different research papers on a specific domain and applied for getting summarized content for further improvement and make the new content.

Math Academy: Play Ball! Explorations in Data Analysis & Statistics. Book 3: Supplemental Math Materials for Grades 3-8

Science.gov (United States)

Rimbey, Kimberly

2008-01-01

Created by teachers for teachers, the Math Academy tools and activities included in this booklet were designed to create hands-on activities and a fun learning environment for the teaching of mathematics to the students. This booklet contains the "Math Academy--Play Ball! Explorations in Data Analysis & Statistics," which teachers can use to…

Cultural dimensions of children's games and play behaviour in the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Cultural dimensions of children's games and play behaviour in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa. ... The socio-cultural analysis of games and play behaviour is an integral exponent of anthropological ... AJOL African Journals Online.

PLAY ANALYSIS AND DIGITAL PORTFOLIO OF MAJOR OIL RESERVOIRS IN THE PERMIAN BASIN: APPLICATION AND TRANSFER OF ADVANCED GEOLOGICAL AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES FOR INCREMENTAL PRODUCTION OPPORTUNITIES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shirley P. Dutton; Eugene M. Kim; Ronald F. Broadhead; Caroline L. Breton; William D. Raatz; Stephen C. Ruppel; Charles Kerans

2004-05-01

The Permian Basin of west Texas and southeast New Mexico has produced >30 Bbbl (4.77 x 10{sup 9} m{sup 3}) of oil through 2000, most of it from 1,339 reservoirs having individual cumulative production >1 MMbbl (1.59 x 10{sup 5} m{sup 3}). These significant-sized reservoirs are the focus of this report. Thirty-two Permian Basin oil plays were defined, and each of the 1,339 significant-sized reservoirs was assigned to a play. The reservoirs were mapped and compiled in a Geographic Information System (GIS) by play. Associated reservoir information within linked data tables includes Railroad Commission of Texas reservoir number and district (Texas only), official field and reservoir name, year reservoir was discovered, depth to top of the reservoir, production in 2000, and cumulative production through 2000. Some tables also list subplays. Play boundaries were drawn for each play; the boundaries include areas where fields in that play occur but are <1 MMbbl (1.59 x 10{sup 5} m{sup 3}) of cumulative production. This report contains a summary description of each play, including key reservoir characteristics and successful reservoir-management practices that have been used in the play. The CD accompanying the report contains a pdf version of the report, the GIS project, pdf maps of all plays, and digital data files. Oil production from the reservoirs in the Permian Basin having cumulative production >1 MMbbl (1.59 x 10{sup 5} m{sup 3}) was 301.4 MMbbl (4.79 x 10{sup 7} m{sup 3}) in 2000. Cumulative Permian Basin production through 2000 from these significant-sized reservoirs was 28.9 Bbbl (4.59 x 10{sup 9} m{sup 3}). The top four plays in cumulative production are the Northwest Shelf San Andres Platform Carbonate play (3.97 Bbbl [6.31 x 10{sup 8} m{sup 3}]), the Leonard Restricted Platform Carbonate play (3.30 Bbbl 5.25 x 10{sup 8} m{sup 3}), the Pennsylvanian and Lower Permian Horseshoe Atoll Carbonate play (2.70 Bbbl [4.29 x 10{sup 8} m{sup 3}]), and the San Andres

Informational analysis for compressive sampling in radar imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jingxiong; Yang, Ke

2015-03-24

Compressive sampling or compressed sensing (CS) works on the assumption of the sparsity or compressibility of the underlying signal, relies on the trans-informational capability of the measurement matrix employed and the resultant measurements, operates with optimization-based algorithms for signal reconstruction and is thus able to complete data compression, while acquiring data, leading to sub-Nyquist sampling strategies that promote efficiency in data acquisition, while ensuring certain accuracy criteria. Information theory provides a framework complementary to classic CS theory for analyzing information mechanisms and for determining the necessary number of measurements in a CS environment, such as CS-radar, a radar sensor conceptualized or designed with CS principles and techniques. Despite increasing awareness of information-theoretic perspectives on CS-radar, reported research has been rare. This paper seeks to bridge the gap in the interdisciplinary area of CS, radar and information theory by analyzing information flows in CS-radar from sparse scenes to measurements and determining sub-Nyquist sampling rates necessary for scene reconstruction within certain distortion thresholds, given differing scene sparsity and average per-sample signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). Simulated studies were performed to complement and validate the information-theoretic analysis. The combined strategy proposed in this paper is valuable for information-theoretic orientated CS-radar system analysis and performance evaluation.

ICT and Play in Preschool: Early Childhood Teachers' Beliefs and Confidence

Science.gov (United States)

Nikolopoulou, Kleopatra; Gialamas, Vasilis

2015-01-01

This study investigated early childhood teachers' beliefs about information and communications technology (ICT) and play in preschool, as well as their confidence in integrating ICT in the classroom. A 28-item questionnaire was compiled and administered to 190 early childhood teachers in Greece. Although ICT play (which can provide learning…

FCJ-175 Humans at play in the Anthropocene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Troy Innocent

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The arrival of the Anthropocene recognises the significant global impact of human activity on the Earth’s ecosystems. Building on Huizingia’s understanding of the relationship between play and culture, this essay explores the role that play could have in survival strategies or to provide awareness of the impact of human processes in the Anthropocene. In this worldview, play has a primary function in culture through its role in modelling modes of human survival: simulation is good tool for understanding the impact of systems on the world; play enables the possibility to become adaptive and ‘hack’ the world as conditions change; and lastly, play suggests that a changed philosophical perspective may offer an evolutionary edge for survival in a changing world. Drawing on Lévy, Bogost, Harman and Parikka strategies for play are explored using micronations and pervasive games; demonstrated and illustrated by analysis of games from recent experience within the Micronation of Ludea.

Investigating the illusion of control in mildly depressed and nondepressed individuals during video-poker play.

Science.gov (United States)

Dannewitz, Holly; Weatherly, Jeffrey N

2007-05-01

Cognitive fallacies, such as the illusion of control, and psychological disorders, such as depression, may perpetuate gambling and thus contribute to problem gambling (e.g., R. Ladouceur, C. Sylvan, C. Boutin, & C. Doucet, 2002). Gender differences may exist across these variables (e.g., N. M. Petry, 2005). The authors investigated these possibilities by recruiting mildly depressed and nondepressed individuals to play jacks or better, 5-card draw, video poker. Across three poker sessions, participants were given (a) no choice of which cards to play, (b) information on the best cards to play but control over which cards were played, or (c) no information and complete control over which cards were played. The total amount of money gambled increased as control over the game decreased, but this result correlated with an increase in the rate of play. Depressed and nondepressed participants did not differ in how they gambled, but men gambled significantly more and sometimes made more mistakes during play than did women. These results question the role of the illusion of control and depression in perpetuating gambling. They also suggest that providing players information about which cards to play may indirectly promote gambling and provide insight as to why men are more prone to suffer from gambling problems than are women.

Regional Analysis of Remote Sensing Based Evapotranspiration Information

Science.gov (United States)

Geli, H. M. E.; Hain, C.; Anderson, M. C.; Senay, G. B.

2017-12-01

Recent research findings on modeling actual evapotranspiration (ET) using remote sensing data and methods have proven the ability of these methods to address wide range of hydrological and water resources issues including river basin water balance for improved water resources management, drought monitoring, drought impact and socioeconomic responses, agricultural water management, optimization of land-use for water conservations, water allocation agreement among others. However, there is still a critical need to identify appropriate type of ET information that can address each of these issues. The current trend of increasing demand for water due to population growth coupled with variable and limited water supply due to drought especially in arid and semiarid regions with limited water supply have highlighted the need for such information. To properly address these issues different spatial and temporal resolutions of ET information will need to be used. For example, agricultural water management applications require ET information at field (30-m) and daily time scales while for river basin hydrologic analysis relatively coarser spatial and temporal scales can be adequate for such regional applications. The objective of this analysis is to evaluate the potential of using an integrated ET information that can be used to address some of these issues collectively. This analysis will highlight efforts to address some of the issues that are applicable to New Mexico including assessment of statewide water budget as well as drought impact and socioeconomic responses which all require ET information but at different spatial and temporal scales. This analysis will provide an evaluation of four remote sensing based ET models including ALEXI, DisALEXI, SSEBop, and SEBAL3.0. The models will be compared with ground-based observations from eddy covariance towers and water balance calculations. Remote sensing data from Landsat, MODIS, and VIIRS sensors will be used to provide ET

Analysis of information security reliability: A tutorial

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kondakci, Suleyman

2015-01-01

This article presents a concise reliability analysis of network security abstracted from stochastic modeling, reliability, and queuing theories. Network security analysis is composed of threats, their impacts, and recovery of the failed systems. A unique framework with a collection of the key reliability models is presented here to guide the determination of the system reliability based on the strength of malicious acts and performance of the recovery processes. A unique model, called Attack-obstacle model, is also proposed here for analyzing systems with immunity growth features. Most computer science curricula do not contain courses in reliability modeling applicable to different areas of computer engineering. Hence, the topic of reliability analysis is often too diffuse to most computer engineers and researchers dealing with network security. This work is thus aimed at shedding some light on this issue, which can be useful in identifying models, their assumptions and practical parameters for estimating the reliability of threatened systems and for assessing the performance of recovery facilities. It can also be useful for the classification of processes and states regarding the reliability of information systems. Systems with stochastic behaviors undergoing queue operations and random state transitions can also benefit from the approaches presented here. - Highlights: • A concise survey and tutorial in model-based reliability analysis applicable to information security. • A framework of key modeling approaches for assessing reliability of networked systems. • The framework facilitates quantitative risk assessment tasks guided by stochastic modeling and queuing theory. • Evaluation of approaches and models for modeling threats, failures, impacts, and recovery analysis of information systems

Return to Play and Future ACL Injury Risk Following ACL Reconstruction In Soccer Athletes From the MOON Group

Science.gov (United States)

Brophy, Robert H.; Schmitz, Leah; Wright, Rick W.; Dunn, Warren R.; Parker, Richard D.; Andrish, Jack T.; McCarty, Eric C.; Spindler, Kurt P.

2013-01-01

Background There is limited information on outcomes and return to play (RTP) after ACL reconstruction (ACLR) in soccer athletes. Hypothesis The purpose of this study was to (i) test the hypotheses that player sex, side of injury and graft choice do not influence RTP, and (ii) define the risk for future ACL injury in soccer players after ACLR. Study design Retrospective cohort study, Level II. Methods Soccer players in a prospective cohort were contacted to determine RTP following ACLR. Information regarding if and when they returned to play, their current playing status, the primary reason they stopped playing soccer (if relevant) and incidence of subsequent ACL surgery was recorded. Results Initially, 72% of 100 soccer athletes (55 male, 45 female) with a mean age of 24.2 years at the time of ACL reconstruction returned to soccer. At average follow up of 7.0 years, 36% were still playing, a significant decrease compared to initial RTP (psoccer athletes had undergone further ACL surgery, including 9 on the contralateral knee and 3 on the ipsilateral knee. In a univariate analysis, females were more likely to have future ACL surgery (20% v. 5.5%, p=0.03). Soccer athletes who underwent ACLR on their non-dominant limb had a higher future rate of contra-lateral ACLR (16%) than soccer athletes who underwent ACLR on their dominant limb (3.5%) (p=0.03). Conclusion Younger and male soccer players are more likely to return to play after ACL reconstruction. Return to soccer following ACLR declines over time. PMID:23002201

Empowered to Play: A Case Study Describing the Impact of Powered Mobility on the Exploratory Play of Disabled Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Sonday, Amshuda; Gretschel, Pam

2016-03-01

Exploratory play is one of the most vital ways in which children learn about their environment and develop. It is well documented that limited mobility restricts a child's ability to engage in their environment through exploratory play. In this study, a qualitative, collective case study design explored the impact of powered mobility on the exploratory play of two children with physical disabilities. Data were collected from the children, their parents and their siblings through participant observation and in-depth, informal interviews. This paper focuses on two themes: Opportunity to Play revealed how powered mobility increased opportunities for the children to become more actively engaged in exploratory play with others across a wider array of contexts, and My Child was Transformed highlighted significant changes in the affect and motivation of each child, which seemed to be linked to their increased internal control over their play choices. The findings suggest that the provision of powered mobility is a key contributor promoting the participation of physically disabled children in exploratory play. Because of undergraduate curricular constraints, a limitation of this study was that data were only confined to 2 months; affecting the depth of data gained that prolonged engagement would have offered. The study recommends for occupational therapy practice that occupational therapists advocate for easier access to powered mobility through governmental and policy means. The study also recommends further research be conducted on the experiences of the caregivers on how these powered mobility devices have influenced their day-to-day occupations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Female Chess Players Outperform Expectations When Playing Men.

Science.gov (United States)

Stafford, Tom

2018-03-01

Stereotype threat has been offered as a potential explanation of differential performance between men and women in some cognitive domains. Questions remain about the reliability and generality of the phenomenon. Previous studies have found that stereotype threat is activated in female chess players when they are matched against male players. I used data from over 5.5 million games of international tournament chess and found no evidence of a stereotype-threat effect. In fact, female players outperform expectations when playing men. Further analysis showed no influence of degree of challenge, player age, nor prevalence of female role models in national chess leagues on differences in performance when women play men versus when they play women. Though this analysis contradicts one specific mechanism of influence of gender stereotypes, the persistent differences between male and female players suggest that systematic factors do exist and remain to be uncovered.

Playful biometrics: controversial technology through the lens of play.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellerbrok, Ariane

2011-01-01

This article considers the role of play in the context of technological emergence and expansion, particularly as it relates to recently emerging surveillance technologies. As a case study, I consider the trajectory of automated face recognition—a biometric technology of numerous applications, from its more controversial manifestations under the rubric of national security to a clearly emerging orientation toward play. This shift toward “playful” biometrics—or from a technology traditionally coded as “hard” to one now increasingly coded as “soft”—is critical insofar as it renders problematic the traditional modes of critique that have, up until this point, challenged the expansion of biometric systems into increasingly ubiquitous realms of everyday life. In response to this dynamic, I propose theorizing the expansion of face recognition specifically in relation to “play,” a step that allows us to broaden the critical space around newly emerging playful biometrics, as well as playful surveillance more generally. In addition, play may also have relevance for theorizing other forms of controversial technology, particularly given its potential role in processes of obfuscation, normalization, and marginalization.

Point Information Gain and Multidimensional Data Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renata Rychtáriková

2016-10-01

Full Text Available We generalize the point information gain (PIG and derived quantities, i.e., point information gain entropy (PIE and point information gain entropy density (PIED, for the case of the Rényi entropy and simulate the behavior of PIG for typical distributions. We also use these methods for the analysis of multidimensional datasets. We demonstrate the main properties of PIE/PIED spectra for the real data with the examples of several images and discuss further possible utilizations in other fields of data processing.

Automatic recognition of offensive team formation in american football plays

KAUST Repository

Atmosukarto, Indriyati

2013-06-01

Compared to security surveillance and military applications, where automated action analysis is prevalent, the sports domain is extremely under-served. Most existing software packages for sports video analysis require manual annotation of important events in the video. American football is the most popular sport in the United States, however most game analysis is still done manually. Line of scrimmage and offensive team formation recognition are two statistics that must be tagged by American Football coaches when watching and evaluating past play video clips, a process which takes many man hours per week. These two statistics are also the building blocks for more high-level analysis such as play strategy inference and automatic statistic generation. In this paper, we propose a novel framework where given an American football play clip, we automatically identify the video frame in which the offensive team lines in formation (formation frame), the line of scrimmage for that play, and the type of player formation the offensive team takes on. The proposed framework achieves 95% accuracy in detecting the formation frame, 98% accuracy in detecting the line of scrimmage, and up to 67% accuracy in classifying the offensive team\\'s formation. To validate our framework, we compiled a large dataset comprising more than 800 play-clips of standard and high definition resolution from real-world football games. This dataset will be made publicly available for future comparison. © 2013 IEEE.

Value of information analysis from a societal perspective: a case study in prevention of major depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohseninejad, Leyla; van Baal, Pieter H M; van den Berg, Matthijs; Buskens, Erik; Feenstra, Talitha

2013-06-01

Productivity losses usually have a considerable impact on cost-effectiveness estimates while their estimated values are often relatively uncertain. Therefore, parameters related to these indirect costs play a role in setting priorities for future research from a societal perspective. Until now, however, value of information analyses have usually applied a health care perspective for economic evaluations. Hence, the effect of productivity losses has rarely been investigated in such analyses. The aim of the current study therefore was to investigate the effects of including or excluding productivity costs in value of information analyses. Expected value of information analysis (EVPI) was performed in cost-effectiveness evaluation of prevention from both societal and health care perspectives, to give us the opportunity to compare different perspectives. Priorities for future research were determined by partial EVPI. The program to prevent major depression in patients with subthreshold depression was opportunistic screening followed by minimal contact psychotherapy. The EVPI indicated that regardless of perspective, further research is potentially worthwhile. Partial EVPI results underlined the importance of productivity losses when a societal perspective was considered. Furthermore, priority setting for future research differed according to perspective. The results illustrated that advise for future research will differ for a health care versus a societal perspective and hence the value of information analysis should be adjusted to the perspective that is relevant for the decision makers involved. The outcomes underlined the need for carefully choosing the suitable perspective for the decision problem at hand. Copyright © 2013 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Maternal DHA levels and toddler free-play attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Kannass, Kathleen N; Colombo, John; Carlson, Susan E

2009-01-01

We investigated the relationship between maternal docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) levels at birth and toddler free-play attention in the second year. Toddler free-play attention was assessed at 12 and 18 months, and maternal erythrocyte (red-blood cell; RBC) phospholipid DHA (percentage of total fatty acids) was measured from mothers at delivery. Overall, higher maternal DHA status at birth was associated with enhanced attentional functioning during the second year. Toddlers whose mothers had high DHA at birth exhibited more total looking and fewer episodes of inattention during free-play than did toddlers whose mothers had low DHA at birth. Analyses also provided further information on changes in attention during toddlerhood. These findings are consistent with evidence suggesting a link between DHA and cognitive development in infancy and early childhood.

In- and Out-of-Character: The Digital Literacy Practices and Emergent Information Worlds of Active Role-Players in a New Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game

Science.gov (United States)

Hollister, Jonathan M.

2016-01-01

This dissertation explores and describes the in-character and out-of-character information worlds and digital literacy practices of role-players, those that create and enact their characters' or avatars' stories, both within and outside of WildStar, a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) (Carbine Studios, 2015). Utilizing Jaeger…

PLAY ANALYSIS AND DIGITAL PORTFOLIO OF MAJOR OIL RESERVOIRS IN THE PERMIAN BASIN: APPLICATION AND TRANSFER OF ADVANCED GEOLOGICAL AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES FOR INCREMENTAL PRODUCTION OPPORTUNITIES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shirley P. Dutton; Eugene M. Kim; Ronald F. Broadhead; William Raatz; Cari Breton; Stephen C. Ruppel; Charles Kerans; Mark H. Holtz

2003-04-01

A play portfolio is being constructed for the Permian Basin in west Texas and southeast New Mexico, the largest petroleum-producing basin in the US. Approximately 1300 reservoirs in the Permian Basin have been identified as having cumulative production greater than 1 MMbbl of oil through 2000. Of these major reservoirs, approximately 1,000 are in Texas and 300 in New Mexico. On a preliminary basis, 32 geologic plays have been defined for Permian Basin oil reservoirs and assignment of each of the 1300 major reservoirs to a play has begun. The reservoirs are being mapped and compiled in a Geographic Information System (GIS) by play. Detailed studies of three reservoirs are in progress: Kelly-Snyder (SACROC unit) in the Pennsylvanian and Lower Permian Horseshoe Atoll Carbonate play, Fullerton in the Leonardian Restricted Platform Carbonate play, and Barnhart (Ellenburger) in the Ellenburger Selectively Dolomitized Ramp Carbonate play. For each of these detailed reservoir studies, technologies for further, economically viable exploitation are being investigated.

Stakeholder Analysis Worksheet

Science.gov (United States)

Stakeholder Analysis WorksheetA worksheet that can be used to document potential stakeholder groups, the information or expertise they hold, the role that they can play, their interests or concerns about the HIA

Strangers and Friends: Collaborative Play in World of Warcraft

Science.gov (United States)

Nardi, Bonnie; Harris, Justin

We analyze collaborative play in an online video game, World of Warcraft, the most popular multiplayer video game with 11 million players in Asia, North America, Europe, and Australia. Based on an immersive ethnographic study, we describe how the social organization of the game and player culture affect players' enjoyment and learning of the game. We discovered that play is characterized by a multiplicity of collaborations from brief informal encounters to highly organized play in structured groups. The variety of collaborations makes the game more fun and provides rich learning opportunities. We contrast these varied collaborations, including those with strangers, to the “gold standard” of Gemeinschaft-like communities of close relations in tightknit groups.

Emulador de Master System 2 corriendo bajo PlayStation Portable

OpenAIRE

García Flores, Jorge

2013-01-01

Creación de un emulador de Master System 2 (videoconsola de SEGA) para ser ejecutado en PlayStation Portable (videoconsola de Sony), implentando los lenguajes de programación C y ensamblados. El uso de este emulador servirá para poder ejecutar los videojuegos para Master System 2 en la videoconsola PlayStation Portable. Ingeniería Técnica en Informática de Gestión

Sensitivity Analysis for Urban Drainage Modeling Using Mutual Information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chuanqi Li

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The intention of this paper is to evaluate the sensitivity of the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM output to its input parameters. A global parameter sensitivity analysis is conducted in order to determine which parameters mostly affect the model simulation results. Two different methods of sensitivity analysis are applied in this study. The first one is the partial rank correlation coefficient (PRCC which measures nonlinear but monotonic relationships between model inputs and outputs. The second one is based on the mutual information which provides a general measure of the strength of the non-monotonic association between two variables. Both methods are based on the Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS of the parameter space, and thus the same datasets can be used to obtain both measures of sensitivity. The utility of the PRCC and the mutual information analysis methods are illustrated by analyzing a complex SWMM model. The sensitivity analysis revealed that only a few key input variables are contributing significantly to the model outputs; PRCCs and mutual information are calculated and used to determine and rank the importance of these key parameters. This study shows that the partial rank correlation coefficient and mutual information analysis can be considered effective methods for assessing the sensitivity of the SWMM model to the uncertainty in its input parameters.

[Play therapy--psychotherapy with play as the medium: II. New developments].

Science.gov (United States)

von Gontard, Alexander; Lehmkuhl, Gerd

2003-02-01

A wide array of new forms and combinations of play therapy have been developed. The aim of the second part of this paper is to present an overview of these newer approaches, including: focussed therapies for specific disorders; behavioural approaches like the Cognitive-Behavioral Play Therapy and the Parent-Child Interaction Therapy; various combinations with family therapy; and therapies especially for preschool children like Filial Therapy, Developmental Play Therapy and Thera-play. Following a phase of experiments and combinations, the empirical evaluation of many play-therapy forms is needed. Especially questions of the differential indication of specific play-therapies and their effectiveness in the therapeutical practice need to be studied.

“Rough and Tumble” Play: Lessons in Life

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pam Jarvis

2006-01-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses upon the developmental role of Rough and Tumble (R&T play with particular attention to the narratives that children use to underpin such activities, and to gender differences within these. The empirical research focused upon the R&T play of children in the early years department of a suburban primary school in Northern England. The children's playtime activities were ethnographically observed over a period of eighteen calendar months, encompassing five school terms. The effects of evolution, biology and culture are recognized in the approach taken to the analysis of data. Findings indicated that the narratives underpinning R&T play were socially complex and highly gendered, and that mixed gender R&T play in particular could be theorized to mirror and simplify aspects of complex, gendered adult interaction.

Qualitative Evaluation of a Role Play Bullying Simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gillespie, Gordon L; Brown, Kathryn; Grubb, Paula; Shay, Amy; Montoya, Karen

Bullying against nurses is becoming a pervasive problem. In this article, a role play simulation designed for undergraduate nursing students is described. In addition, the evaluation findings from a subsample of students who participated in a role play simulation addressing bullying behaviors are reported. Focus group sessions were completed with a subset of eight students who participated in the intervention. Sessions were audiorecorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using Colaizzi's procedural steps for qualitative analysis. Themes derived from the data were "The Experience of Being Bullied", "Implementation of the Program", "Desired Outcome of the Program", and "Context of Bullying in the Nursing Profession". Role play simulation was an effective and active learning strategy to diffuse education on bullying in nursing practice. Bullying in nursing was identified as a problem worthy of incorporation into the undergraduate nursing curriculum. To further enhance the learning experience with role play simulation, adequate briefing instructions, opportunity to opt out of the role play, and comprehensive debriefing are essential.

Play Analysis and Digital Portfolio of Major Oil Reservoirs in the Permian Basin: Application and Transfer of Advanced Geological and Engineering Technologies for Incremental Production Opportunities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shirley P. Dutton; Eugene M. Kim; Ronald F. Broadhead; Caroline L. Breton; William D. Raatz; Stephen C. Ruppel; Charles Kerans

2004-01-13

A play portfolio is being constructed for the Permian Basin in west Texas and southeast New Mexico, the largest onshore petroleum-producing basin in the United States. Approximately 1,300 reservoirs in the Permian Basin have been identified as having cumulative production greater than 1 MMbbl (1.59 x 10{sup 5} m{sup 3}) of oil through 2000. Of these significant-sized reservoirs, approximately 1,000 are in Texas and 300 in New Mexico. There are 32 geologic plays that have been defined for Permian Basin oil reservoirs, and each of the 1,300 major reservoirs was assigned to a play. The reservoirs were mapped and compiled in a Geographic Information System (GIS) by play. The final reservoir shapefile for each play contains the geographic location of each reservoir. Associated reservoir information within the linked data tables includes RRC reservoir number and district (Texas only), official field and reservoir name, year reservoir was discovered, depth to top of the reservoir, production in 2000, and cumulative production through 2000. Some tables also list subplays. Play boundaries were drawn for each play; the boundaries include areas where fields in that play occur but are smaller than 1 MMbbl (1.59 x 10{sup 5} m{sup 3}) of cumulative production. Oil production from the reservoirs in the Permian Basin having cumulative production of >1 MMbbl (1.59 x 10{sup 5} m{sup 3}) was 301.4 MMbbl (4.79 x 10{sup 7} m{sup 3}) in 2000. Cumulative Permian Basin production through 2000 was 28.9 Bbbl (4.59 x 10{sup 9} m{sup 3}). The top four plays in cumulative production are the Northwest Shelf San Andres Platform Carbonate play (3.97 Bbbl [6.31 x 10{sup 8} m{sup 3}]), the Leonard Restricted Platform Carbonate play (3.30 Bbbl [5.25 x 10{sup 8} m{sup 3}]), the Pennsylvanian and Lower Permian Horseshoe Atoll Carbonate play (2.70 Bbbl [4.29 x 10{sup 8} m{sup 3}]), and the San Andres Platform Carbonate play (2.15 Bbbl [3.42 x 10{sup 8} m{sup 3}]). Detailed studies of three reservoirs

Planning for outdoor play: Government and family decision-making.

Science.gov (United States)

Sterman, Julia J; Naughton, Geraldine A; Bundy, Anita C; Froude, Elspeth; Villeneuve, Michelle A

2018-03-08

Despite indisputable developmental benefits of outdoor play, children with disabilities can experience play inequity. Play decisions are multifactorial; influenced by children's skills and their familial and community environments. Government agencies have responsibilities for equity and inclusion of people with disabilities; including in play. This multiple-perspective case study aimed to understand outdoor play decision-making for children with disabilities from the perspectives and interactions of: local government and families of primary school-aged children with disabilities. Five mothers, four local government employees, and two not-for-profit organization representatives participated in semi-structured interviews. Inductive and iterative analyzes involved first understanding perspectives of individuals, then stakeholders (local government and families), and finally similarities and differences through cross-case analysis. Local government focused more on physical access, than social inclusion. Local government met only minimal requirements and had little engagement with families. This resulted in poor understanding and action around family needs and preferences when designing public outdoor play spaces. To increase meaningful choice and participation in outdoor play, government understanding of family values and agency around engagement with local government needs to improve. Supporting familial collective capabilities requires understanding interactions between individuals, play, disability, and outdoor play environments.

GIS methodology for geothermal play fairway analysis: Example from the Snake River Plain volcanic province

Science.gov (United States)

DeAngelo, Jacob; Shervais, John W.; Glen, Jonathan; Nielson, Dennis L.; Garg, Sabodh; Dobson, Patrick; Gasperikova, Erika; Sonnenthal, Eric; Visser, Charles; Liberty, Lee M.; Siler, Drew; Evans, James P.; Santellanes, Sean

2016-01-01

Play fairway analysis in geothermal exploration derives from a systematic methodology originally developed within the petroleum industry and is based on a geologic and hydrologic framework of identified geothermal systems. We are tailoring this methodology to study the geothermal resource potential of the Snake River Plain and surrounding region. This project has contributed to the success of this approach by cataloging the critical elements controlling exploitable hydrothermal systems, establishing risk matrices that evaluate these elements in terms of both probability of success and level of knowledge, and building automated tools to process results. ArcGIS was used to compile a range of different data types, which we refer to as ‘elements’ (e.g., faults, vents, heatflow…), with distinct characteristics and confidence values. Raw data for each element were transformed into data layers with a common format. Because different data types have different uncertainties, each evidence layer had an accompanying confidence layer, which reflects spatial variations in these uncertainties. Risk maps represent the product of evidence and confidence layers, and are the basic building blocks used to construct Common Risk Segment (CRS) maps for heat, permeability, and seal. CRS maps quantify the variable risk associated with each of these critical components. In a final step, the three CRS maps were combined into a Composite Common Risk Segment (CCRS) map for analysis that reveals favorable areas for geothermal exploration. Python scripts were developed to automate data processing and to enhance the flexibility of the data analysis. Python scripting provided the structure that makes a custom workflow possible. Nearly every tool available in the ArcGIS ArcToolbox can be executed using commands in the Python programming language. This enabled the construction of a group of tools that could automate most of the processing for the project. Currently, our tools are repeatable

Enhancing Safeguards through Information Analysis: Business Analytics Tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vincent, J.; Midwinter, J.

2015-01-01

For the past 25 years the IBM i2 Intelligence Analysis product portfolio has assisted over 4,500 organizations across law enforcement, defense, government agencies, and commercial private sector businesses to maximize the value of the mass of information to discover and disseminate actionable intelligence that can help identify, investigate, predict, prevent, and disrupt criminal, terrorist, and fraudulent acts; safeguarding communities, organizations, infrastructures, and investments. The collaborative Intelligence Analysis environment delivered by i2 is specifically designed to be: · scalable: supporting business needs as well as operational and end user environments · modular: an architecture which can deliver maximum operational flexibility with ability to add complimentary analytics · interoperable: integrating with existing environments and eases information sharing across partner agencies · extendable: providing an open source developer essential toolkit, examples, and documentation for custom requirements i2 Intelligence Analysis brings clarity to complex investigations and operations by delivering industry leading multidimensional analytics that can be run on-demand across disparate data sets or across a single centralized analysis environment. The sole aim is to detect connections, patterns, and relationships hidden within high-volume, all-source data, and to create and disseminate intelligence products in near real time for faster informed decision making. (author)

A Technical Analysis Information Fusion Approach for Stock Price Analysis and Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Lahmiri, Salim

In this paper, we address the problem of technical analysis information fusion in improving stock market index-level prediction. We present an approach for analyzing stock market price behavior based on different categories of technical analysis metrics and a multiple predictive system. Each category of technical analysis measures is used to characterize stock market price movements. The presented predictive system is based on an ensemble of neural networks (NN) coupled with particle swarm intelligence for parameter optimization where each single neural network is trained with a specific category of technical analysis measures. The experimental evaluation on three international stock market indices and three individual stocks show that the presented ensemble-based technical indicators fusion system significantly improves forecasting accuracy in comparison with single NN. Also, it outperforms the classical neural network trained with index-level lagged values and NN trained with stationary wavelet transform details and approximation coefficients. As a result, technical information fusion in NN ensemble architecture helps improving prediction accuracy.

Thinking about information work of nuclear science and technology in the age of big data: speaking of the information analysis and research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Tieyong

2014-01-01

Human society is entering a 'PB' (1024TB) the new era as the unit of structured and unstructured data, In the network era, with the development of mobile communications, electronic commerce, the emergence and development of social network. Now, a large-scale production, sharing and application data era is opening. How to explore the value of data, to conquer big data, to get useful information, is an important task of our science and technology information workers. This paper tries to analyze the development of the nuclear science and technology information work from big data obtain, analysis, application. Our analysis and research work for information will be increasingly based on all data and analysis, Instead of random sampling. The data 'sound' is possible. A lot of results of information analysis and research can be expressed quantitatively. We should attach great importance to data collection, careful analysis of the big data. We involves the professional division of labor, but also to cooperation In nuclear science and technology information analysis and research process. In addition, we should strengthen the nuclear science and technology information resource construction, improve Information supply; strengthen the analysis and research of nuclear science and technology information, improve the information service; strengthen information management of nuclear science and technology, pay attention to the security problems and intellectual property rights in information sharing; strengthen personnel training, continuously improve the nuclear science and technology information work efficiency and performance. In the age of big data, our nuclear science and technology information workers shall be based on the information analysis and study as the core, one hand grasping information collection, another hand grasping information service, forge ahead and innovation, continuous improvement working ability of nuclear science and technology information, improve the

Playfulness and prenatal alcohol exposure: a comparative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Pearton, Jordan Louise; Ramugondo, Elelwani; Cloete, Lizahn; Cordier, Reinie

2014-08-01

South Africa carries a high burden of alcohol abuse. The effects of maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy are most pronounced in poor, rural communities. Earlier research suggests that children with prenatal alcohol exposure have poor social behaviour; however, to date, no research has investigated their playfulness. This study investigated the differences in playfulness of children with and without prenatal alcohol exposure. Grade one learners with a positive history of prenatal alcohol exposure (n = 15) and a reference group without a positive history of prenatal alcohol exposure (n = 15) were filmed engaging in free play at their schools. The Test of Playfulness was used to measure playfulness from recordings. Data were subjected to Rasch analysis to calculate interval level measure scores for each participant. The overall measure scores and individual Test of Playfulness social items were subjected to paired samples t-tests to calculate if significant differences existed between the groups. Children with prenatal alcohol exposure had a significantly lower mean overall playfulness score than the reference group (t = -2.51; d.f. = 28; P = 0.02). Children with prenatal alcohol exposure also scored significantly lower than the reference group on 5 of the 12 Test of Playfulness items related to social play. This research suggests that children with prenatal alcohol exposure are more likely to experience poorer overall quality of play, with particular deficits in social play. Considering play is a child's primary occupation, this finding becomes pertinent for occupational therapy practice, particularly in post-apartheid South Africa, where high prenatal alcohol exposure prevalence rates are couched within persistent socio-economic inequalities. © 2014 Occupational Therapy Australia.

Cluster Analysis of International Information and Social Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, Jesus

1990-01-01

Analyzes information activities in relation to socioeconomic characteristics in low, middle, and highly developed economies for the years 1960 and 1977 through the use of cluster analysis. Results of data from 31 countries suggest that information development is achieved mainly by countries that have also achieved social development. (26…

METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH TO ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF INFORMATION PROTECTION IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS BASED ON VULNERABILITY DANGER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. M. Krotiuk

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The paper considers a methodological approach to an analysis and estimation of information security in the information systems which is based on the analysis of vulnerabilities and an extent of their hazard. By vulnerability hazard it is meant a complexity of its operation as a part of an information system. The required and sufficient vulnerability operational conditions  have  been  determined in the paper. The paper proposes a generalized model for attack realization which is used as a basis for construction of an attack realization model for an operation of a particular vulnerability. A criterion for estimation of information protection in the information systems which is based on the estimation of vulnerability hazard is formulated in the paper. The proposed approach allows to obtain a quantitative estimation of the information system security on the basis of the proposed schemes on realization of typical attacks for the distinguished classes of vulnerabilities.The methodical approach is used for choosing variants to be applied for realization of protection mechanisms in the information systems as well as for estimation of information safety in the operating information systems.

Risk Analysis of Accounting Information System Infrastructure

OpenAIRE

MIHALACHE, Arsenie-Samoil

2011-01-01

National economy and security are fully dependent on information technology and infrastructure. At the core of the information infrastructure society relies on, we have the Internet, a system designed initially as a scientists’ forum for unclassified research. The use of communication networks and systems may lead to hazardous situations that generate undesirable effects such as communication systems breakdown, loss of data or taking the wrong decisions. The paper studies the risk analysis of...

Competence of medical students in communicating drug therapy: Value of role-play demonstrations.

Science.gov (United States)

Tayem, Yasin I; Altabtabaei, Abdulaziz S; Mohamed, Mohamed W; Arrfedi, Mansour M; Aljawder, Hasan S; Aldebous, Fahad A; James, Henry; Al Khaja, Khalid A J; Sequeira, Reginald P

2016-01-01

This study used role-play demonstrations to train medical students to communicate drug therapy and evaluated the perceptions on this instructional approach. The second-year medical students who attended a prescription writing session (n = 133), participated in this study. Prescription communication was introduced by using role-play demonstrations. Participant's perceptions were explored by a self-administered questionnaire and focus group discussion. The academic achievement of attendees and nonattendees was compared with an objective structured performance evaluation (OSPE) station that tested students' competence in this skill. Most attendees responded to the questionnaire (81.2%). Almost all respondents expressed their desire to have similar demonstrations in other units. A large proportion of participants reported that role-play demonstrations helped them develop their communication skills, in general, confidence to communicate drug-related information in a prescription, and the ability to explain the aim of drug therapy to patients. Most trainees thought also that they developed skills to communicate instructions on drug use including drug dose, frequency of administration, duration of therapy, adverse drug reactions, and warnings. During the focus group interviews, students thought that role-play was useful but would be more beneficial if conducted frequently in small group as part of the curriculum implementation. The majority of students also reported improved competence in writing a complete prescription. Analysis of attendees and nonattendees grades in the OSPE showed that the former scored higher than the latter group (P = 0.016). Role-play demonstrations were well accepted by medical students and led to the development of their competence in communicating drug therapy to patients.

Concepts of Play and Play Culture for the 21st Century

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nørgård, Rikke Toft; Toft, Herdis; Karoff, Helle Skovbjerg

2014-01-01

, Associate professor Carsten Jessen, Aarhus University, Assistant professor Helle Skovbjerg Karoff, University of Aalborg and Assistant professor Rikke Toft Nørgård, Aarhus University. This panel represents and discusses different concepts of play and play culture in both diachronic and synchronic dimensions......BIN Norden conference 2014 Accepted panel ________________________________________ Concepts of Play and Play Culture for the 21st Century Participants in the panel are: Associate professor Herdis Toft, University of Southern Denmark (organizer), Professor Beth Juncker, University of Copenhagen....... For several centuries western theorists, for instance Baumgarten, Schiller, Huizinga, Caillois, Sutton Smith, Vygotsky, Bateson, Salen & Zimmerman, Flemming Mouritsen and later on the panel participants, have discussed the concept of play and play culture. They have presented their own theoretical...

Collection and Analysis of Open Source News for Information Awareness and Early Warning in Nuclear Safeguards

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cojazzi, Giacomo G.M.; Van Der Goot, Erik; Verile, Marco; Wolfart, Erik; Rutan Fowler, Marcy; Feldman, Yana; Hammond, William; Schweighardt, John; Ferguson, Mattew

2013-01-01

Acquisition and analysis of open source information plays an increasingly important role in the IAEA’s move towards safeguards implementation based on all safeguards relevant information known about a State. The growing volume of open source information requires the development of technology and tools capable of effectively collecting relevant information, filtering out “noise”, organizing valuable information in a clear and accessible manner, and assessing its relevance. In this context, the IAEA’s Division of Information Management (SGIM) and the EC’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) are currently implementing a joint project to advance the effectiveness and efficiency of the IAEA’s workflow for open source information collection and analysis. The objective is to provide tools to support SGIM in the production of the SGIM Open Source Highlights, which is a daily news brief consisting of the most pertinent news stories relevant to safeguards and non-proliferation. The process involves the review and selection of hundreds of articles from a wide array of specifically selected sources. The joint activity exploits the JRC’s Europe Media Monitor (EMM) and NewsDesk applications: EMM automatically collects and analyses news articles from a pre-defined list of web sites, and NewsDesk allows an analyst to manually select the most relevant articles from the EMM stream for further processing. The paper discusses the IAEA’s workflow for the production of SGIM Open Source Highlights and describes the capabilities of EMM and NewsDesk. It then provides an overview of the joint activities since the project started in 2011, which were focused i) on setting up a separate EMM installation dedicated to the nuclear safeguards and security domain (Nuclear Security Media Monitor, NSMM) and ii) on evaluating the NSMM/NewsDesk for meeting the IAEA’s needs. Finally, it presents the current use NSMM/NewsDesk at the IAEA and proposes options for further integration with the

Ground subsidence information as a valuable layer in GIS analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Murdzek Radosław

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Among the technologies used to improve functioning of local governments the geographic information systems (GIS are widely used. GIS tools allow to simultaneously integrate spatial data resources, analyse them, process and use them to make strategic decisions. Nowadays GIS analysis is widely used in spatial planning or environmental protection. In these applications a number of spatial information are utilized, but rarely it is an information about environmental hazards. This paper includes information about ground subsidence that occurred in USCB mining area into GIS analysis. Monitoring of this phenomenon can be carried out using the radar differential interferometry (DInSAR method.

Ground subsidence information as a valuable layer in GIS analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Murdzek, Radosław; Malik, Hubert; Leśniak, Andrzej

2018-04-01

Among the technologies used to improve functioning of local governments the geographic information systems (GIS) are widely used. GIS tools allow to simultaneously integrate spatial data resources, analyse them, process and use them to make strategic decisions. Nowadays GIS analysis is widely used in spatial planning or environmental protection. In these applications a number of spatial information are utilized, but rarely it is an information about environmental hazards. This paper includes information about ground subsidence that occurred in USCB mining area into GIS analysis. Monitoring of this phenomenon can be carried out using the radar differential interferometry (DInSAR) method.

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE ANALYSIS USING BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE TOOLS BASED ON THE INFORMATION NEEDS OF EXECUTIVES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabricio Sobrosa Affeldt

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Devising an information architecture system that enables an organization to centralize information regarding its operational, managerial and strategic performance is one of the challenges currently facing information technology. The present study aimed to analyze an information architecture system developed using Business Intelligence (BI technology. The analysis was performed based on a questionnaire enquiring as to whether the information needs of executives were met during the process. A theoretical framework was applied consisting of information architecture and BI technology, using a case study methodology. Results indicated that the transaction processing systems studied did not meet the information needs of company executives. Information architecture using data warehousing, online analytical processing (OLAP tools and data mining may provide a more agile means of meeting these needs. However, some items must be included and others modified, in addition to improving the culture of information use by company executives.

Risky play and children's safety: balancing priorities for optimal child development.

Science.gov (United States)

Brussoni, Mariana; Olsen, Lise L; Pike, Ian; Sleet, David A

2012-08-30

Injury prevention plays a key role in keeping children safe, but emerging research suggests that imposing too many restrictions on children's outdoor risky play hinders their development. We explore the relationship between child development, play, and conceptions of risk taking with the aim of informing child injury prevention. Generational trends indicate children's diminishing engagement in outdoor play is influenced by parental and societal concerns. We outline the importance of play as a necessary ingredient for healthy child development and review the evidence for arguments supporting the need for outdoor risky play, including: (1) children have a natural propensity towards risky play; and, (2) keeping children safe involves letting them take and manage risks. Literature from many disciplines supports the notion that safety efforts should be balanced with opportunities for child development through outdoor risky play. New avenues for investigation and action are emerging seeking optimal strategies for keeping children "as safe as necessary," not "as safe as possible." This paradigm shift represents a potential for epistemological growth as well as cross-disciplinary collaboration to foster optimal child development while preserving children's safety.

Play Therapy: A Review

Science.gov (United States)

Porter, Maggie L.; Hernandez-Reif, Maria; Jessee, Peggy

2009-01-01

This article discusses the current issues in play therapy and its implications for play therapists. A brief history of play therapy is provided along with the current play therapy approaches and techniques. This article also touches on current issues or problems that play therapists may face, such as interpreting children's play, implementing…

Well Played: The Origins and Future of Playfulness

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, Gwen

2014-01-01

In this article, the author synthesizes research from several disciplines to shed light on play's central role in healthy development. Gordon builds on research in attachment theory that correlates secure attachment in infancy with adult well-being to demonstrate how playfulness might be a lifelong outcome of secure attachment and a primary…

Depression and play in early childhood. Play behavior of depressed and nondepressed 3- to 6-year olds in various play situations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mol Lous, A.; Wit, C.A.M. de; Bruyn, E.E.J. De; Riksen-Walraven, J.M.A.; Rost, H.

2000-01-01

The behavior of seven depressed and seven nondepressed 3- to 6-year-olds was compared in three play situations: solitary free play, interactive free play, and play narratives. Depressed children played significantly less than their nondepressed controls. This was mainly due to differences in

[Development of Hospital Equipment Maintenance Information System].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Zhixin

2015-11-01

Hospital equipment maintenance information system plays an important role in improving medical treatment quality and efficiency. By requirement analysis of hospital equipment maintenance, the system function diagram is drawed. According to analysis of input and output data, tables and reports in connection with equipment maintenance process, relationships between entity and attribute is found out, and E-R diagram is drawed and relational database table is established. Software development should meet actual process requirement of maintenance and have a friendly user interface and flexible operation. The software can analyze failure cause by statistical analysis.

Play as Self-Realization: Toward a General Theory of Play

Science.gov (United States)

Henricks, Thomas S.

2014-01-01

In a wide-ranging essay that reviews the major theories of plays and relates them to significant notions of the self, the author addresses the question of why we play. He does so to argue that play is a biologically driven project of self-understanding and self-realization, one that humans--although they also share the experience with other…

Play for the development of body schema and spatial and temporal orientation: analysis of an intervention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara Domiciano Franco de Campos

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Childhood is a significant stage in human development in which many skills are developed influencing learning progress. Play is an activity of children’s daily lives that enhances cognitive, social, emotional, and psychomotor abilities. Objective: Evaluate the results of an intervention for a child with delayed development of body schema and spatial and temporal orientation. Method: This study adopted the semi-experimental design type of pre and post-test. The Motor Development Scale (MDS was applied in a four-year-old child. From the MDS results, an intervention plan was prepared concerning games that stimulate the previously mentioned acquisitions. The implementation of the plan lasted two months and the child was evaluated before and at the end of the intervention. The JT method was adopted for data analysis and verification of significant and reliable clinical changes. Results: The child achieved significant change in the three items assessed. In terms of clinical significance, the child changed status on spatial organization, becoming part of the functional population. Body schema remained in the dysfunctional population and the child’s temporal orientation was in the range of uncertainty. Conclusion: The results showed positive and reliable changes in the evaluated items, confirming the positive effect of play as an occupational therapeutic resource present in the developmental intervention program. It emphasizes the importance of conducting further studies with a larger number of participants for new data and findings on the use of play in interventions into psychomotor development.

Structural Analysis of Technical-Tactical Elements in Table Tennis and their Role in Different Playing Zones.

Science.gov (United States)

Munivrana, Goran; Petrinović, Lidija Zekan; Kondrič, Miran

2015-09-29

For the purpose of determining the overall structure of technical-tactical elements in table tennis and evaluating their role in different playing zones around the table, a new measuring instrument (a questionnaire) was formulated that took advantage of the expert knowledge of top, world class table tennis coaches. The results of the hierarchical taxonomic (cluster) analysis showed that the overall structure of the technical-tactical elements forming the table tennis technique could be divided into three basic groups; a group of technical-tactical elements (A) used in the phase of preparing one's own and disabling the opponent's attack; a group of technical-tactical elements (B) used in the phase of attack and counterattack; and a group of technical-tactical elements (C) used in the phase of defense. The differences among the obtained groups of table tennis elements were determined by applying the Kruskal-Wallis test, while relations between the groups and their role in different playing zones around the table were analyzed by comparing the average values of the experts' scores.

Structural Analysis of Technical-Tactical Elements in Table Tennis and their Role in Different Playing Zones

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Munivrana Goran

2015-09-01

Full Text Available For the purpose of determining the overall structure of technical-tactical elements in table tennis and evaluating their role in different playing zones around the table, a new measuring instrument (a questionnaire was formulated that took advantage of the expert knowledge of top, world class table tennis coaches. The results of the hierarchical taxonomic (cluster analysis showed that the overall structure of the technical-tactical elements forming the table tennis technique could be divided into three basic groups; a group of technical-tactical elements (A used in the phase of preparing one’s own and disabling the opponent’s attack; a group of technical-tactical elements (B used in the phase of attack and counterattack; and a group of technical-tactical elements (C used in the phase of defense. The differences among the obtained groups of table tennis elements were determined by applying the Kruskal-Wallis test, while relations between the groups and their role in different playing zones around the table were analyzed by comparing the average values of the experts’ scores.

Energy expenditure in adolescents playing new generation computer games.

Science.gov (United States)

Graves, Lee; Stratton, Gareth; Ridgers, N D; Cable, N T

2008-07-01

To compare the energy expenditure of adolescents when playing sedentary and new generation active computer games. Cross sectional comparison of four computer games. Setting Research laboratories. Six boys and five girls aged 13-15 years. Participants were fitted with a monitoring device validated to predict energy expenditure. They played four computer games for 15 minutes each. One of the games was sedentary (XBOX 360) and the other three were active (Wii Sports). Predicted energy expenditure, compared using repeated measures analysis of variance. Mean (standard deviation) predicted energy expenditure when playing Wii Sports bowling (190.6 (22.2) kl/kg/min), tennis (202.5 (31.5) kl/kg/min), and boxing (198.1 (33.9) kl/kg/min) was significantly greater than when playing sedentary games (125.5 (13.7) kl/kg/min) (Pgames. Playing new generation active computer games uses significantly more energy than playing sedentary computer games but not as much energy as playing the sport itself. The energy used when playing active Wii Sports games was not of high enough intensity to contribute towards the recommended daily amount of exercise in children.

Baseflow recession analysis across the Eagle Ford shale play (Texas, USA)

Science.gov (United States)

Arciniega, Saul; Brena-Naranjo, Agustin; Hernandez-Espriu, Jose Antonio; Pedrozo-Acuña, Adrian

2016-04-01

Baseflow is an important process of the hydrological cycle as it can be related to aquatic ecosystem health and groundwater recharge. The temporal and spatial dynamics of baseflow are typically governed by fluctuations in the water table of shallow aquifers hence groundwater pumping and return flow can greatly modify baseflow patterns. More recently, in some regions of the world the exploitation of gas trapped in shale formations by means of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) has raised major concerns on the quantitative and qualitative groundwater impacts. Although fracking implies massive amounts of groundwater withdrawals, its contribution on baseflow decline has not yet been fully investigated. Furthermore, its impact with respect to other human activities or climate extremes such as irrigation or extreme droughts, respectively, remain largely unknown. This work analyzes baseflow recession time-space patterns for a set of watersheds located across the largest shale producer in the world, the Eagle Ford shale play in Texas (USA). The period of study (1985-2014) includes a pre-development and post-development period. The dataset includes 56 hydrometric time series located inside and outside the shale play. Results show that during the development and expansion of the Eagle Ford play, around 70 % of the time series displayed a significant decline wheras no decline was observed during the pre-development)

Engineering Play: Exploring Associations with Executive Function, Mathematical Ability, and Spatial Ability in Preschool

Science.gov (United States)

Gold, Zachary Samuel

Engineering play is a new perspective on preschool education that views constructive play as an engineering design process that parallels the way engineers think and work when they develop engineered solutions to human problems (Bairaktarova, Evangelou, Bagiati, & Brophy, 2011). Early research from this perspective supports its use in framing play as a key learning context. However, no research to date has examined associations between engineering play and other factors linked with early school success, such as executive function, mathematical ability, and spatial ability. Additionally, more research is needed to further validate a new engineering play observational measure. This study had two main goals: (1) to gather early validity data on the engineering play measure as a potentially useful instrument for documenting the occurrence of children's engineering play behaviors in educational contexts, such as block play. This was done by testing the factor structure of the engineering play behaviors in this sample and their association with preschoolers' planning, a key aspect of the engineering design process; (2) to explore associations between preschoolers' engineering play and executive function, mathematical ability, and spatial ability. Participants included 110 preschoolers (62 girls; 48 boys; M = 58.47 months) from 10 classrooms in the Midwest United States coded for their frequency of engagement in each of the nine engineering play behaviors. A confirmatory factor analysis resulted in one engineering play factor including six of the engineering play behaviors. A series of marginal regression models revealed that the engineering play factor was significantly and positively associated with the spatial horizontal rotation transformation. However, engineering play was not significantly related to planning ability, executive function, informal mathematical abilities, or other spatial transformation skills. Follow-up analyses revealed significant positive

Using principal components analysis to explore competence and confidence in student nurses as users of information and communication technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Todhunter, Fern

2015-07-01

To report on the relationship between competence and confidence in nursing students as users of information and communication technologies, using principal components analysis. In nurse education, learning about and learning using information and communication technologies is well established. Nursing students are one of the undergraduate populations in higher education required to use these resources for academic work and practice learning. Previous studies showing mixed experiences influenced the choice of an exploratory study to find out about information and communication technologies competence and confidence. A 48-item survey questionnaire was administered to a volunteer sample of first- and second-year nursing students between July 2008-April 2009. The cohort ( N  =   375) represented 18·75% of first- and second-year undergraduates. A comparison between this work and subsequent studies reveal some similar ongoing issues and ways to address them. A principal components analysis (PCA) was carried out to determine the strength of the correlation between information and communication technologies competence and confidence. The aim was to show the presence of any underlying dimensions in the transformed data that would explain any variations in information and communication technologies competence and confidence. Cronbach's alpha values showed fair to good internal consistency. The five component structure gave medium to high results and explained 44·7% of the variance in the original data. Confidence had a high representation. The findings emphasized the shift towards social learning approaches for information and communication technologies. Informal social collaboration found favour with nursing students. Learning through talking, watching and listening all play a crucial role in the development of computing skills.

Cost-volume-profit and net present value analysis of health information systems.

Science.gov (United States)

McLean, R A

1998-08-01

The adoption of any information system should be justified by an economic analysis demonstrating that its projected benefits outweigh its projected costs. Analysis differ, however, on which methods to employ for such a justification. Accountants prefer cost-volume-profit analysis, and economists prefer net present value analysis. The article explains the strengths and weaknesses of each method and shows how they can be used together so that well-informed investments in information systems can be made.

The play grid

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fogh, Rune; Johansen, Asger

2013-01-01

In this paper we propose The Play Grid, a model for systemizing different play types. The approach is psychological by nature and the actual Play Grid is based, therefore, on two pairs of fundamental and widely acknowledged distinguishing characteristics of the ego, namely: extraversion vs. intro...

Design Issues and Information Contents of the Provincial Government Websites of Indonesia: A Content Analysis on Visual Messages

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Achmad Syarief

2009-07-01

Full Text Available A website is not just merely act as an object of displaying information, but it also represents a contextual medium of communication through visuals and contents. The interplay of website design elements builds up meanings that affect users beyond what previous communication practices have uncovered. Previous research acknowledges that visuals and contents have significant effects in attracting users’ attention and trust. Thus, the ability of a website to provide credible information through visuals and contents to target users is therefore plays great importance in the success of a website. However, although a considerable number of researches on website design have been performed, study in understanding the characteristics of site’s visual appearances and information contents for the purpose of promoting local investment in Indonesia has been very limited. This paper addresses visual design issues and information contents of eighteen provincial government websites of Indonesia. Through content analysis, the paper comparatively examines visual appearances, information contents, and functions of each website, in order to determine visual characteristics and contents that suit the purpose of promoting local potencies. The paper focuses on commonality, discrepancy, and pattern of contents, provide suggestions to improve the use of provincial government website design of Indonesia.

CISAPS: Complex Informational Spectrum for the Analysis of Protein Sequences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charalambos Chrysostomou

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Complex informational spectrum analysis for protein sequences (CISAPS and its web-based server are developed and presented. As recent studies show, only the use of the absolute spectrum in the analysis of protein sequences using the informational spectrum analysis is proven to be insufficient. Therefore, CISAPS is developed to consider and provide results in three forms including absolute, real, and imaginary spectrum. Biologically related features to the analysis of influenza A subtypes as presented as a case study in this study can also appear individually either in the real or imaginary spectrum. As the results presented, protein classes can present similarities or differences according to the features extracted from CISAPS web server. These associations are probable to be related with the protein feature that the specific amino acid index represents. In addition, various technical issues such as zero-padding and windowing that may affect the analysis are also addressed. CISAPS uses an expanded list of 611 unique amino acid indices where each one represents a different property to perform the analysis. This web-based server enables researchers with little knowledge of signal processing methods to apply and include complex informational spectrum analysis to their work.

[Play therapy in social work with children].

Science.gov (United States)

Dvarionas, Dziugas

2002-01-01

This article introduces the results of scientific research performed in 1995-1997 in Kaunas primary school with 1st and 2nd grade children exhibiting behavioral disorders. Play therapy, a quite novel method in the country, seeks better improvement and an achievement of a better relationship for disadvantaged children in educational process. Play group counseling, or play media counseling, is shown as an important method in working with early primary grade children, especially those who present behavioral problems in the classroom. Another important aspect of group play therapy is the concentrated relationship with the counselor. Primary school children, especially those who are disadvantaged respond more to warmth than to praise for being right and doing well. Data analysis allow us to assume that behavioral difficulties of primary school children are connected with a low rate of self-esteem and dissatisfaction with their vital activities. Main conclusions to correspond with hypothesis held for the research are: a) children exhibiting behavioral problems are less active in educational process; b) by means of systematic use of play group counseling method in school, problematic children are able to solve their difficulties and to optimize their academic improvement; c) there is a complementary relationship between child's self-esteem and his/her satisfaction with his/her vital activity.

Hepatitis B virus mutation may play a role in hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence: A systematic review and meta-regression analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Hua-ying; Luo, Yue; Chen, Wen-dong; Gong, Guo-zhong

2015-06-01

A number of studies have confirmed that antiviral therapy with nucleotide analogs (NAs) can improve the prognosis of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after curative therapy. However, what factors affected the prognosis of HBV-HCC after removal of the primary tumor and inhibition of HBV replication? A meta-regression analysis was conducted to explore the prognostic factor for this subgroup of patients. MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane library were searched from January 1995 to February 2014 for clinical trials evaluating the effect of NAs on the prognosis of HBV-HCC after curative therapy. Data were extracted for host, viral, and intervention information. Single-arm meta-analysis was performed to assess overall survival (OS) rates and HCC recurrence. Meta-regression analysis was carried out to explore risk factors for 1-year OS rate and HCC recurrence for HBV-HCC patients after curative therapy and antiviral therapy. Fourteen observational studies with 1284 patients met the inclusion criteria. Influential factors for prognosis of HCC were mainly baseline HBeAg positivity, cirrhotic stage, advanced Tumor-Node-Metastasis (TNM) stage, macrovascular invasion, and antiviral agent type. The 1-year OS rate decreased by more than four times (coefficient -4.45, P<0.001) and the 1-year HCC recurrence increased by more than one time (coefficient 1.20, P=0.003) when lamivudine was chosen for HCC after curative therapy, relative to entecavir for HCC. HBV mutation may play a role in HCC recurrence. Entecavir or tenofovir, a high genetic barrier to resistance, should be recommended for HBV-HCC patients. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology published by Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Alibis for Adult Play

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

The social meanings of play sit at odds with norms of responsible and productive adult conduct. To be “caught” playing as an adult therefore risks embarrassment. Still, many designers want to create enjoyable, nonembarrassing play experiences for adults. To address this need, this article reads instances of spontaneous adult play through the lens of Erving Goffman’s theory of the interaction order to unpack conditions and strategies for nonembarrassing adult play. It identifies established frames, segregated audiences, scripts supporting smooth performance, managing audience awareness, role distancing, and, particularly, alibis for play: Adults routinely provide alternative, adult-appropriate motives to account for their play, such as child care, professional duties, creative expression, or health. Once legitimized, the norms and rules of play themselves then provide an alibi for behavior that would risk being embarrassing outside play.

Concussions and Risk Within Cultural Contexts of Play.

Science.gov (United States)

Torres Colón, Gabriel Alejandro; Smith, Sharia; Fucillo, Jenny

2017-06-01

Concussions are a type of traumatic injury caused by a jolting of the brain that disrupts normal brain function, and multiple concussions can lead to serious long-term health consequences. In this article, we examine the relationship between college students' understanding of concussions and their willingness to continue playing despite the possibility of sustaining multiple head injuries. We use a mixed-methods approach that includes participant observation, cultural domain analysis, and structured interviews. Our research finds that students hold a robust cognitive understanding of concussion yet discursively frame concussions as skeletomuscular injuries. More importantly, students affirm the importance of playing sports for themselves and others, so their decisions to risk multiple concussions must be understood within cultural and biocultural contexts of meaningful social play. We suggest that peoples' decision to risk multiple head injuries should be understood as a desire for meaningful social play rather than an uninformed health risk.

Supervising the uncanny: the play within the play.

Science.gov (United States)

Leader, Carol

2015-11-01

The writer offers a combined experience in analysis and the performing arts to explore uncanny aspects of the unconscious subtext of the patient's inner drama; subtext which can remain hidden from view in supervision. Freud and Jung's understanding of uncanny experience is considered together with a painting from medieval alchemy and Matte Blanco's conceptions concerning the symmetrical nature of unconscious process. Theatre and the work of the theatre director and actor in approaching the multidimensional aspects of a play are then introduced. Finally clinical case material from group supervision demonstrates how the 'theatre of therapy' and the work of the supervisory couple and group promote the emergence of a more authentic conscious asymmetrical response to the patient's 'script' that can break the 'spell' of the transference/countertransference relationship. This in turn brings meaning to the underlying and implicit 'stage directions' that the patient has been unconsciously communicating. © 2015, The Society of Analytical Psychology.

Information dissemination analysis of different media towards the application for disaster pre-warning.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Nan; Huang, Hong; Su, Boni; Zhao, Jinlong; Zhang, Bo

2014-01-01

Knowing the information dissemination mechanisms of different media and having an efficient information dissemination plan for disaster pre-warning plays a very important role in reducing losses and ensuring the safety of human beings. In this paper we established models of information dissemination for six typical information media, including short message service (SMS), microblogs, news portals, cell phones, television, and oral communication. Then, the information dissemination capability of each medium concerning individuals of different ages, genders, and residential areas was simulated, and the dissemination characteristics were studied. Finally, radar graphs were used to illustrate comprehensive assessments of the six media; these graphs show directly the information dissemination characteristics of all media. The models and the results are essential for improving the efficiency of information dissemination for the purpose of disaster pre-warning and for formulating emergency plans which help to reduce the possibility of injuries, deaths and other losses in a disaster.

Alibis for Adult Play: A Goffmanian Account of Escaping Embarrassment in Adult Play.

Science.gov (United States)

Deterding, Sebastian

2018-05-01

The social meanings of play sit at odds with norms of responsible and productive adult conduct. To be "caught" playing as an adult therefore risks embarrassment. Still, many designers want to create enjoyable, nonembarrassing play experiences for adults. To address this need, this article reads instances of spontaneous adult play through the lens of Erving Goffman's theory of the interaction order to unpack conditions and strategies for nonembarrassing adult play. It identifies established frames, segregated audiences, scripts supporting smooth performance, managing audience awareness, role distancing, and, particularly, alibis for play: Adults routinely provide alternative, adult-appropriate motives to account for their play, such as child care, professional duties, creative expression, or health. Once legitimized, the norms and rules of play themselves then provide an alibi for behavior that would risk being embarrassing outside play.

Music in Informal and formal learning situations in ECEC

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morten Sæther

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this article is, through theory, research and practical experiences, to discuss how informal teaching and learning situations exemplified by activities including music plays a part in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC. The theoretical frame in this article is based on perspectives on informal teaching and learning in music and in general (Green 2002, 2008; Henze, 2009; Folkestad, 2006; Mak, 2007. The tradition in Norwegian ECEC centers has been based on informal learning processes mainly through social interaction, play, dialogs, aesthetical and outdoor activities in everyday life. ECEC teachers challenged to articulate Informal teaching and learning as professional educators. In light of that statement it is introduced, theoretical perspectives and studies of professions (Abbott, 1988; Grimen, 2008; Heggen, 2008; Polanyi, 2002. The author describes and discusses opportunities of music in ECEC centers and how music can contribute learning in informal learning situations. The discussion refers narrative episodes from observations of ECEC practice. Methodology is based on thematic analysis inspired of  Riessman (2008 and Polkinghorne (1995.

Playing Shakespeare.

Science.gov (United States)

Bashian, Kathleen Ryniker

1993-01-01

Describes a yearlong project at 12 Catholic middle schools in the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, to incorporate the plays of William Shakespeare into the curriculum. Teachers attended university lectures and directed students in performances of the plays. Concludes that Shakespeare can be understood and enjoyed by middle school students. (BCY)

Sex Differences in Parent-Child Interaction Styles during a Free-Play Session.

Science.gov (United States)

Tauber, Margaret A.

1979-01-01

Analysis of videotapes of 145 third graders playing with a parent showed (1) that parents of girls were more likely to engage in sociable play, parents of boys in active play; and (2) that maternal behavior remained relatively constant regardless of child's sex while paternal behavior varied for boys and girls. (JMB)

Virtual Playgrounds? Assessing the Playfulness of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, Kerrie Lewis

2010-01-01

Millions of children and adults devote much of their leisure time to playing massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). Most observers commonly categorize computer games as a play activity, but this article asks whether MMORPGs contain activities that might not be play. The author examines the phenomenon of online gaming and…

The impact of recreational video game play on children's and adolescents' cognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Blumberg, Fran C; Altschuler, Elizabeth A; Almonte, Debby E; Mileaf, Maxwell I

2013-01-01

Current empirical findings show linkages between recreational video game play and enhanced cognitive skills, primarily among young adults. However, consideration of this linkage among children and adolescents is sparse. Thus, discussions about facilitating transfer of cognitive skills from video game play to academic tasks among children and adolescents remains largely uninformed by research. To inform this discussion, we review available research concerning the cognitive benefits of video game play among children and adolescents and their impressions of video games as learning tools as these impressions may impact their application of cognitive skills used during game play to academic tasks. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company.

A Topic Model Approach to Representing and Classifying Football Plays

KAUST Repository

Varadarajan, Jagannadan

2013-09-09

We address the problem of modeling and classifying American Football offense teams’ plays in video, a challenging example of group activity analysis. Automatic play classification will allow coaches to infer patterns and tendencies of opponents more ef- ficiently, resulting in better strategy planning in a game. We define a football play as a unique combination of player trajectories. To this end, we develop a framework that uses player trajectories as inputs to MedLDA, a supervised topic model. The joint maximiza- tion of both likelihood and inter-class margins of MedLDA in learning the topics allows us to learn semantically meaningful play type templates, as well as, classify different play types with 70% average accuracy. Furthermore, this method is extended to analyze individual player roles in classifying each play type. We validate our method on a large dataset comprising 271 play clips from real-world football games, which will be made publicly available for future comparisons.

An analytical approach to customer requirement information processing

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Zude; Xiao, Zheng; Liu, Quan; Ai, Qingsong

2013-11-01

'Customer requirements' (CRs) management is a key component of customer relationship management (CRM). By processing customer-focused information, CRs management plays an important role in enterprise systems (ESs). Although two main CRs analysis methods, quality function deployment (QFD) and Kano model, have been applied to many fields by many enterprises in the past several decades, the limitations such as complex processes and operations make them unsuitable for online businesses among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Currently, most SMEs do not have the resources to implement QFD or Kano model. In this article, we propose a method named customer requirement information (CRI), which provides a simpler and easier way for SMEs to run CRs analysis. The proposed method analyses CRs from the perspective of information and applies mathematical methods to the analysis process. A detailed description of CRI's acquisition, classification and processing is provided.

Characterization of juvenile play in rats: importance of sex of self and sex of partner.

Science.gov (United States)

Argue, Kathryn J; McCarthy, Margaret M

2015-01-01

Juvenile social play is observed in many mammalian species, and its disruption in several neuropsychiatric disorders has greatly increased interest in understanding the origins and sources of variability in this behavior. We quantified social play behavior in juvenile rats and investigated the impact of sex and familiarity of the play partner. Sex differences in play behavior were investigated by comparing males and females from either same- or mixed-sex pairs with data pooled over 12 days of analysis. Whether play was altered based on the sex of the play partner was assessed using a paired analysis to compare play with a same- or opposite-sex play partner for both males and females. Additionally, a repeated measures design was utilized to determine whether play changed with increasing age. On postnatal day 33, a novel play partner was introduced. We used a repeated measures analysis to compare postnatal day 33 with the previous day. These approaches were used to assess the effects of age, sex, sex of partner, and familiarity of partner on total social play behavior as well as how play was broken down into components, such as pouncing, pinning, chasing, and boxing. There were sex differences in total frequency of play, and specific parameters of play behavior, such as chasing, pouncing, pinning, and boxing. Additionally, males significantly altered their play behavior in response to the sex of their play partner, whereas females were more sensitive to the familiarity of the play partner. This study provides critical groundwork for uncovering factors that regulate social play behavior and can be used to guide future mechanistic based work.

Development of efficient system for collection-analysis-application of information using system for technology and information in field of RI-biomics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jang, Sol Ah; Kim, Joo Yeon; Park, Tai Jin

2015-01-01

RI-Biomics is the new radiation fusion technology of which, such as the characteristics of radioisotope, is applied to the biomics. In order to sharing and overall analysis of data between the institutions through total management of information in the field of RI-Biomics, RI-Biomics Information portal ‘RIBio-Info’ was constructed by KARA (Korean Association for Radiation Application) in February 2015. For systematic operation of this ‘RIBio-Info’ system, it is required to develop system of collection-analysis-application of information. So, in this paper, we summarized development of document forms at each processes of collection-analysis-application of information and systematization of collection methods of information, establishment of characteristically analysis methods of reports such as issue paper, policy report, global market report and watch report. Therefore, these are expected to improving the practical applicability in this field through the vitalization of technology development of users by achieving the circular structure of collection analysis-application of information

Development of efficient system for collection-analysis-application of information using system for technology and information in field of RI-biomics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jang, Sol Ah; Kim, Joo Yeon; Park, Tai Jin [Korean Association for Radiation Application, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2015-08-15

RI-Biomics is the new radiation fusion technology of which, such as the characteristics of radioisotope, is applied to the biomics. In order to sharing and overall analysis of data between the institutions through total management of information in the field of RI-Biomics, RI-Biomics Information portal ‘RIBio-Info’ was constructed by KARA (Korean Association for Radiation Application) in February 2015. For systematic operation of this ‘RIBio-Info’ system, it is required to develop system of collection-analysis-application of information. So, in this paper, we summarized development of document forms at each processes of collection-analysis-application of information and systematization of collection methods of information, establishment of characteristically analysis methods of reports such as issue paper, policy report, global market report and watch report. Therefore, these are expected to improving the practical applicability in this field through the vitalization of technology development of users by achieving the circular structure of collection analysis-application of information.

RECORDED-ROLE PLAY IN EFL CLASSROOM: A WAY OF MAXIMIZING STUDENTS‟ POTENTIAL IN SPEAKING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krismiyati Krismiyati

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Teaching English for non English Department students will be quite a challenge as the students have various background and interest. Handling those students in a big number in a class that requires them to speak is another impending challenge. This is an action research on role-play in English classroom for Information Technology students. This study tries to see whether recorded-role play could maximize students‘ potential in speaking. This study involved 30 students taking English course in Information Technology Faculty. The students were given a situation in which they had to act the role play. They drafted the role -play before they recorded it. The result shows that students felt less tense in acting the role. They also got more time to practice their pronunciation before recording. It even gave students who felt reluctant and shy in the class to actively participate. In addition, students could play around with the supporting background sound to show their creativity. Surprisingly, most students do their best to show their effort in their speaking as the end-product would be played in the classroom, even the most quiet students performed really well. Finally, this recorded-role play proved to be an effective way to maximize students‘ potential in speaking.

Play and Adversity: How the Playful Mammalian Brain Withstands Threats and Anxieties

Science.gov (United States)

Siviy, Stephen M.

2010-01-01

Most mammals play, but they do so in a dangerous world. The dynamic relationship between the stresses created by their world and the activity of play helps to explain the evolution of play in mammals, as the author demonstrates in evidence garnered from experiments that introduce elements of fear to rats at play. The author describes the resulting…

Information-Pooling Bias in Collaborative Security Incident Correlation Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajivan, Prashanth; Cooke, Nancy J

2018-03-01

Incident correlation is a vital step in the cybersecurity threat detection process. This article presents research on the effect of group-level information-pooling bias on collaborative incident correlation analysis in a synthetic task environment. Past research has shown that uneven information distribution biases people to share information that is known to most team members and prevents them from sharing any unique information available with them. The effect of such biases on security team collaborations are largely unknown. Thirty 3-person teams performed two threat detection missions involving information sharing and correlating security incidents. Incidents were predistributed to each person in the team based on the hidden profile paradigm. Participant teams, randomly assigned to three experimental groups, used different collaboration aids during Mission 2. Communication analysis revealed that participant teams were 3 times more likely to discuss security incidents commonly known to the majority. Unaided team collaboration was inefficient in finding associations between security incidents uniquely available to each member of the team. Visualizations that augment perceptual processing and recognition memory were found to mitigate the bias. The data suggest that (a) security analyst teams, when conducting collaborative correlation analysis, could be inefficient in pooling unique information from their peers; (b) employing off-the-shelf collaboration tools in cybersecurity defense environments is inadequate; and (c) collaborative security visualization tools developed considering the human cognitive limitations of security analysts is necessary. Potential applications of this research include development of team training procedures and collaboration tool development for security analysts.

Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center: FY 1992 activities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cushman, R.M. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States). Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center; Stoss, F.W. [Tennessee Univ., Knoxville, TN (United States). Energy, Environment and Resources Center

1993-03-01

During the course of a fiscal year, Oak Ridge National Laboratory`s Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) distributes thousands of specialty publications-numeric data packages (NDPs), computer model packages (CMPs), technical reports, public communication publications, newsletters, article reprints, and reference books-in response to requests for information related to global environmental issues, primarily those pertaining to climate change. CDIACs staff also provides technical responses to specific inquiries related to carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}), other trace gases, and climate. Hundreds of referrals to other researchers, policy analysts, information specialists, or organizations are also facilitated by CDIAC`s staff. This report provides an account of the activities accomplished by CDIAC during the period October 1, 1991 to September 30, 1992. An organizational overview of CDIAC and its staff is supplemented by a detailed description of inquiries received and CDIAC`s response to those inquiries. As analysis and description of the preparation and distribution of numeric data packages, computer model packages, technical reports, newsletters, fact sheets, specialty publications, and reprints is provided. Comments and descriptions of CDIAC`s information management systems, professional networking, and special bilateral agreements are also described.

Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center: FY 1991 activities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cushman, R.M.; Stoss, F.W.

1992-06-01

During the course of a fiscal year, Oak Ridge National Laboratory`s Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) distributes thousands of specially publications-numeric data packages (NDPs), computer model packages (CMPs), technical reports, public communication publications, newsletters, article reprints, and reference books-in response to requests for information related to global environmental issues, primarily those pertaining to climate change. CDIAC`s staff also provides technical responses to specific inquiries related to carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}), other trace gases, and climate. Hundreds of referrals to other researchers, policy analysts, information specialists, or organizations are also facilitated by CDIAC`s staff. This report provides an account of the activities accomplished by CDIAC during the period October 1, 1990 to September 30, 1991. An organizational overview of CDIAC and its staff is supplemented by a detailed description of inquiries received and CDIAC`s response to those inquiries. An analysis and description of the preparation and distribution of numeric data packages, computer model packages, technical reports, newsletters, factsheets, specially publications, and reprints is provided. Comments and descriptions of CDIAC`s information management systems, professional networking, and special bilateral agreements are also described.

Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center: FY 1991 activities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cushman, R.M.; Stoss, F.W.

1992-06-01

During the course of a fiscal year, Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) distributes thousands of specially publications-numeric data packages (NDPs), computer model packages (CMPs), technical reports, public communication publications, newsletters, article reprints, and reference books-in response to requests for information related to global environmental issues, primarily those pertaining to climate change. CDIAC's staff also provides technical responses to specific inquiries related to carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}), other trace gases, and climate. Hundreds of referrals to other researchers, policy analysts, information specialists, or organizations are also facilitated by CDIAC's staff. This report provides an account of the activities accomplished by CDIAC during the period October 1, 1990 to September 30, 1991. An organizational overview of CDIAC and its staff is supplemented by a detailed description of inquiries received and CDIAC's response to those inquiries. An analysis and description of the preparation and distribution of numeric data packages, computer model packages, technical reports, newsletters, factsheets, specially publications, and reprints is provided. Comments and descriptions of CDIAC's information management systems, professional networking, and special bilateral agreements are also described.

Information Superiority via Formal Concept Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Koester, Bjoern; Schmidt, Stefan E.

This chapter will show how to get more mileage out of information. To achieve that, we first start with an introduction to the fundamentals of Formal Concept Analysis (FCA). FCA is a highly versatile field of applied lattice theory, which allows hidden relationships to be uncovered in relational data. Moreover, FCA provides a distinguished supporting framework to subsequently find and fill information gaps in a systematic and rigorous way. In addition, we would like to build bridges via a universal approach to other communities which can be related to FCA in order for other research areas to benefit from a theory that has been elaborated for more than twenty years. Last but not least, the essential benefits of FCA will be presented algorithmically as well as theoretically by investigating a real data set from the MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base and also by demonstrating an application in the field of Web Information Retrieval and Web Intelligence.

Information Analysis Centers in the Department of Defense. Revision

Science.gov (United States)

1987-07-01

Combat Data Information Center (CDIC) and the Aircraft Survivability Model Repository ( ASMR ) into the Survivability/Vulnerability Information Analysis...Information Center (CDIC) and the Aircraft Survivability Model Respository ( ASMR ). The CDIC was a central repository for combat and test data related to...and ASMR were operated under the technical monitorship of the Flight Dynamics Laboratory at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio and were located in Flight

The appeal of playing online first person shooter games

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jansz, J.; Tanis, M.A.

2007-01-01

First Person Shooter Games (FPSG) such as Counter Strike are often the subject of public concern. Surprisingly, there is no published research available about playing these games. We conducted an exploratory Internet survey (n 5 751) in order to gather information about who the players of online

Time perspective as a predictor of massive multiplayer online role-playing game playing.

Science.gov (United States)

Lukavska, Katerina

2012-01-01

This article focuses on the relationship between the time perspective (TP) personality trait and massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) playing. We investigate the question of frequency of playing. The TP was measured with Zimbardo's TP Inventory (ZTPI), which includes five factors-past negative, past positive, present hedonistic, present fatalistic, and future. The study used data from 154 MMORPG players. We demonstrated that TP partially explained differences within a group of players with respect to the frequency of playing. Significant positive correlations were found between present factors and the amount of time spent playing MMORPGs, and significant negative correlation was found between the future factor and the time spent playing MMORPGs. Our study also revealed the influence of future-present balance on playing time. Players who scored lower in future-present balance variables (their present score was relatively high compared with their future score) reported higher values in playing time. In contrast to referential studies on TP and drug abuse and gambling, present fatalistic TP was demonstrated to be a stronger predictor of extensive playing than present hedonistic TP, which opened the question of motivation for playing. The advantage of our study compared with other personality-based studies lies in the fact that TP is a stable but malleable personality trait with a direct link to playing behavior. Therefore, TP is a promising conceptual resource for excessive playing therapy.

The Curriculum Material Center's Vital Link to Play and Learning: What's the Connection?

Science.gov (United States)

Madray, Amrita; Catalano, Amy

2010-01-01

Many educational theorists who study child development concur that the importance of play related materials in schools, homes and libraries is vital to the concept of play and learning. As academic librarians responsible for information literacy, and as the education liaison for the management and collection development of the instructional…

SNiPlay: a web-based tool for detection, management and analysis of SNPs. Application to grapevine diversity projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Dereeper, Alexis; Nicolas, Stéphane; Le Cunff, Loïc; Bacilieri, Roberto; Doligez, Agnès; Peros, Jean-Pierre; Ruiz, Manuel; This, Patrice

2011-05-05

High-throughput re-sequencing, new genotyping technologies and the availability of reference genomes allow the extensive characterization of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) and insertion/deletion events (indels) in many plant species. The rapidly increasing amount of re-sequencing and genotyping data generated by large-scale genetic diversity projects requires the development of integrated bioinformatics tools able to efficiently manage, analyze, and combine these genetic data with genome structure and external data. In this context, we developed SNiPlay, a flexible, user-friendly and integrative web-based tool dedicated to polymorphism discovery and analysis. It integrates:1) a pipeline, freely accessible through the internet, combining existing softwares with new tools to detect SNPs and to compute different types of statistical indices and graphical layouts for SNP data. From standard sequence alignments, genotyping data or Sanger sequencing traces given as input, SNiPlay detects SNPs and indels events and outputs submission files for the design of Illumina's SNP chips. Subsequently, it sends sequences and genotyping data into a series of modules in charge of various processes: physical mapping to a reference genome, annotation (genomic position, intron/exon location, synonymous/non-synonymous substitutions), SNP frequency determination in user-defined groups, haplotype reconstruction and network, linkage disequilibrium evaluation, and diversity analysis (Pi, Watterson's Theta, Tajima's D).Furthermore, the pipeline allows the use of external data (such as phenotype, geographic origin, taxa, stratification) to define groups and compare statistical indices.2) a database storing polymorphisms, genotyping data and grapevine sequences released by public and private projects. It allows the user to retrieve SNPs using various filters (such as genomic position, missing data, polymorphism type, allele frequency), to compare SNP patterns between populations, and to

Learning Arabic through play

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Papadopoulos, Pantelis M.; Ibrahim, Zeinab; Karatsolis, Andreas

2015-01-01

This paper presents the use of educational games in the context of the “Arabiyyatii” research project, a three-year project funded through Qatar National Research Fund. The scope of the project is teaching Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) to kindergarten students (5-6 years old) that are native...... speakers of the Qatari dialect. Part of the new curriculum envisioned in the project includes the use of simple educational games, specifically designed and developed for tabletop surface computers. The paper presents a naturalistic study design, following the activities of 18 students for a period of 9...... weeks in the project. The paper presents three of the most played games by the students, along with analysis on collected data, focusing on students’ performance and attitudes towards the new curriculum. Results analysis provided an encouraging image, suggesting that the conducted activity was able...

[Play as a care strategy for children with cancer].

Science.gov (United States)

Lima, Kálya Yasmine Nunes de; Santos, Viviane Euzébia Pereira

2015-06-01

To understand the influence of play in the care process as perceived by children with cancer. A descriptive, exploratory and qualitative study conducted in a children's cancer unit in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Data were collected between October 2013 and January 2014 by means of photographic records and semi-structured interviews with eight children, and content analysis with emphasis on two categories: Auxiliary instruments during play; and The influence of play in the process of care. Recreational activities involve watching television, using computers, games and toys, drawing, the playroom and the clown, which provide fun, feelings of joy, distraction and interaction with other people. There are several activities at the hospital that are considered play-related and, for the children, they all benefit their care process.

Play as a care strategy for children with cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kálya Yasmine Nunes de Lima

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To understand the influence of play in the care process as perceived by children with cancer. METHOD: A descriptive, exploratory and qualitative study conducted in a children's cancer unit in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Data were collected between October 2013 and January 2014 by means of photographic records and semi-structured interviews with eight children, and content analysis with emphasis on two categories: Auxiliary instruments during play; and The influence of play in the process of care. RESULTS: Recreational activities involve watching television, using computers, games and toys, drawing, the playroom and the clown, which provide fun, feelings of joy, distraction and interaction with other people. CONCLUSION: There are several activities at the hospital that are considered play-related and, for the children, they all benefit their care process.

Carbon emission analysis and evaluation of industrial departments in China: An improved environmental DEA cross model based on information entropy.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Yongming; Long, Chang; Geng, Zhiqiang; Zhang, Keyu

2018-01-01

Environmental protection and carbon emission reduction play a crucial role in the sustainable development procedure. However, the environmental efficiency analysis and evaluation based on the traditional data envelopment analysis (DEA) cross model is subjective and inaccurate, because all elements in a column or a row of the cross evaluation matrix (CEM) in the traditional DEA cross model are given the same weight. Therefore, this paper proposes an improved environmental DEA cross model based on the information entropy to analyze and evaluate the carbon emission of industrial departments in China. The information entropy is applied to build the entropy distance based on the turbulence of the whole system, and calculate the weights in the CEM of the environmental DEA cross model in a dynamic way. The theoretical results show that the new weight constructed based on the information entropy is unique and optimal globally by using the Monte Carlo simulation. Finally, compared with the traditional environmental DEA and DEA cross model, the improved environmental DEA cross model has a better efficiency discrimination ability based on the data of industrial departments in China. Moreover, the proposed model can obtain the potential of carbon emission reduction of industrial departments to improve the energy efficiency. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Play and optimal welfare: Does play indicate the presence of positive affective states?

Science.gov (United States)

Ahloy-Dallaire, Jamie; Espinosa, Julia; Mason, Georgia

2017-11-16

Play is commonly used to assess affective states in both humans and non-human animals. Play appears to be most common when animals are well-fed and not under any direct threats to fitness. Could play and playfulness therefore indicate pre-existing positive emotions, and thence optimal animal welfare? We examine this question by surveying the internal and external conditions that promote or suppress play in a variety of species, starting with humans. We find that negative affective states and poor welfare usually do suppress play (although there are notable exceptions where the opposite occurs). Furthermore, research in children suggests that beyond the frequency or total duration of play, poor welfare may additionally be reflected in qualitative aspects of this heterogeneous behaviour (e.g. display of solitary over social play; and the 'fragmentation' of play bouts) that are often overlooked in animals. There are surprisingly few studies of play in subjects with pre-existing optimal welfare or in unambiguously highly positive affective states, making it currently impossible to determine whether play can distinguish optimal or good welfare from merely neutral welfare. This therefore represents an important and exciting area for future research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Does Playing Pay? The Fitness-Effect of Free Play during Childhood

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Werner Greve

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Evolutionary developmental psychology claims that the sequences and processes of human development, in fact the mere fact of ontogeny itself, have to be viewed as evolutionary products. However, although the functional benefits of childish behavior (child playing for cognitive and emotional development have been shown repeatedly, claiming evolutionary adaptiveness of playing in childhood suggests that childish play supports evolutionary success in mature stages of development. This hypothesis is tested in a study with N = 134 adults (93 females; age range 20–66 years. Participants were asked to recollect their play experiences during childhood in detail, and to report their current developmental status with respect to several aspects of social success. Results show that the opportunity for and the promotion of free play in childhood significantly predict some indicators of social success. Additional analyses strive to explore mediating processes for this relationship. In particular, the mediating role of individual adaptivity (flexibility of goal adjustment is investigated. Results suggest that freely playing in childhood promotes developmental resources, in particular individual adaptivity in adulthood, which, in turn, promote developmental success.

Does playing pay? The fitness-effect of free play during childhood.

Science.gov (United States)

Greve, Werner; Thomsen, Tamara; Dehio, Cornelia

2014-04-29

Evolutionary developmental psychology claims that the sequences and processes of human development, in fact the mere fact of ontogeny itself, have to be viewed as evolutionary products. However, although the functional benefits of childish behavior (child playing) for cognitive and emotional development have been shown repeatedly, claiming evolutionary adaptiveness of playing in childhood suggests that childish play supports evolutionary success in mature stages of development. This hypothesis is tested in a study with N=134 adults (93 females; age range 20-66 years). Participants were asked to recollect their play experiences during childhood in detail, and to report their current developmental status with respect to several aspects of social success. Results show that the opportunity for and the promotion of free play in childhood significantly predict some indicators of social success. Additional analyses strive to explore mediating processes for this relationship. In particular, the mediating role of individual adaptivity (flexibility of goal adjustment) is investigated. Results suggest that freely playing in childhood promotes developmental resources, in particular individual adaptivity in adulthood, which, in turn, promote developmental success.

Built environment, parents' perception, and children's vigorous outdoor play.

Science.gov (United States)

Bringolf-Isler, Bettina; Grize, Leticia; Mäder, Urs; Ruch, Nicole; Sennhauser, Felix H; Braun-Fahrländer, Charlotte

2010-01-01

To evaluate the combined effects and relative importance of socio-cultural factors as well as parents' subjectively perceived and objectively assessed environment on time children spent vigorously playing outdoors. Cross-sectional study conducted in Berne, Biel-Bienne, and Payerne (Switzerland) during the school year 2004/2005. Included 1345 parental questionnaires from children out of three age groups (6/7, 9/10, and 13/14 years). A total of 1081 (80%) provided a home address, which could be linked to environmental data using a geographic information system (GIS). GIS-derived main street density in a buffer of 100 m around the home was inversely associated with time playing outdoors in adolescents and younger children, but only in more urbanized areas. In addition and independently of GIS-based main street density, parental concern about traffic safety was associated with less time playing outdoors in primary school children. Girls, adolescents, and children from the French speaking part of the country spent less time playing outdoors. A non-Swiss nationality and having younger siblings increased time playing vigorously outdoors in adolescents. In addition to socio-cultural factors, parents' perceptions and objectively measured environmental factors were significantly associated with the time spent vigorously playing outdoors. These associations differed by age group. Copyright (c) 2010 The Institute For Cancer Prevention. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Child's Play: Therapist's Narrative

Science.gov (United States)

Reddy, Rajakumari P.; Hirisave, Uma

2014-01-01

Play has been recognized as an essential component to children's healthy development. Schools of play therapy differ philosophically and technically, but they all embrace the therapeutic and developmental properties of play. This case report is an illustration of how a 6-year-old child with emotional disorder was facilitated to express concerns in child-centered play therapy. The paper discusses the therapist's narration of the child's play. PMID:24860228

MEASUREMENT OF FATHER-CHILD ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE PLAY AND ITS RELATIONS TO CHILD BEHAVIOR.

Science.gov (United States)

Stgeorge, Jennifer; Freeman, Emily

2017-11-01

Although there is increasing evidence of paternal influence on child outcomes such as language and cognition, researchers are not yet clear on the features of father-child play that are most valuable in terms of child development. Physical play such as rough and tumble play (RTP) is a favored type of father-child play in Western societies that has been linked to children's socioemotional competence. It is important, therefore, to determine the implications of this play for child development. In this review and meta-analysis, associations between father-child physical play and child behavior were examined. The review also focused on study methods. Sixteen studies are reviewed, N = 1,521 father-child dyads, 35% boys. Study characteristics such as definitions of physical play, play settings, play measures, and coding were examined. The meta-analysis found weak to moderate population effects for links between father-child physical play and child aggression, social competence, emotional skills, and self-regulation. Research investigating the effect of father-child physical play on children's development will be improved when definitions clearly identify the nature of play, settings facilitate boisterous play, and measures include frequency and quality of play interactions. This play shows promise as an enhancer of positive father-child relationships and a catalyst for child development. © 2017 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.

An information theory account of cognitive control.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Jin

2014-01-01

Our ability to efficiently process information and generate appropriate responses depends on the processes collectively called cognitive control. Despite a considerable focus in the literature on the cognitive control of information processing, neural mechanisms underlying control are still unclear, and have not been characterized by considering the quantity of information to be processed. A novel and comprehensive account of cognitive control is proposed using concepts from information theory, which is concerned with communication system analysis and the quantification of information. This account treats the brain as an information-processing entity where cognitive control and its underlying brain networks play a pivotal role in dealing with conditions of uncertainty. This hypothesis and theory article justifies the validity and properties of such an account and relates experimental findings to the frontoparietal network under the framework of information theory.

An information theory account of cognitive control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin eFan

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Our ability to efficiently process information and generate appropriate responses depends on the processes collectively called cognitive control. Despite a considerable focus in the literature on the cognitive control of information processing, neural mechanisms underlying control are still unclear, and have not been characterized by considering the quantity of information to be processed. A novel and comprehensive account of cognitive control is proposed using concepts from information theory, which is concerned with communication system analysis and the quantification of information. This account treats the brain as an information-processing entity where cognitive control and its underlying brain networks play a pivotal role in dealing with conditions of uncertainty. This hypothesis and theory article justifies the validity and properties of such an account and relates experimental findings to the frontoparietal network under the framework of information theory.

Play Therapy. ERIC Digest.

Science.gov (United States)

Landreth, Garry; Bratton, Sue

Play therapy is based on developmental principles and, thus, provides, through play, developmentally appropriate means of expression and communication for children. Therefore, skill in using play therapy is an essential tool for mental health professionals who work with children. Therapeutic play allows children the opportunity to express…

Analysis of Emergency Information Management Research Hotspots Based on Bibliometric and Co-occurrence Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zou Qingyun

2017-04-01

Full Text Available [Purpose/significance] Emergency information management is an interdisciplinary field of emergency management and information management. Summarizing the major research output is helpful to strengthen the effective utilization of information resources in emergency management research, and to provide references for the follow-up development and practical exploration of emergency information management research. [Method/process] By retrieving concerned literature from CNKI, this paper used the bibliometric and co-word clustering analysis methods to analyze the domestic emergency management research output. [Result/conclusion] Domestic emergency information management research mainly focuses on five hot topics: disaster emergency information management, crisis information disclosure, emergency information management system, emergency response, wisdom emergency management. China should strengthen the emergency management information base for future theoretical research, and build the emergency information management theoretical framework.

Information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boyard, Pierre.

1981-01-01

The fear for nuclear energy and more particularly for radioactive wastes is analyzed in the sociological context. Everybody agree on the information need, information is available but there is a problem for their diffusion. Reactions of the public are analyzed and journalists, scientists and teachers have a role to play [fr

The role of play

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schouten, B.A.M.

2011-01-01

Play is seen as an activity that is fun, voluntary, offers escape, and is fundamentally exciting. Play is however, more than that; it is a working model of flexibility! There is a vital link between play, psychological development and learning. Moreover, the importance of play has gained importance

Army Information Operations Officer Needs Analysis Report

Science.gov (United States)

2016-03-01

helping with formatting the final report iv ARMY INFORMATION OPERATIONS OFFICER NEEDS ANALYSIS REPORT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Research...time.” One IO officer suggested the IPO try to get a access the database that has all the old APA reports archived as a way to look at assessment

BioSunMS: a plug-in-based software for the management of patients information and the analysis of peptide profiles from mass spectrometry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang Xuemin

2009-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background With wide applications of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS and surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF MS, statistical comparison of serum peptide profiles and management of patients information play an important role in clinical studies, such as early diagnosis, personalized medicine and biomarker discovery. However, current available software tools mainly focused on data analysis rather than providing a flexible platform for both the management of patients information and mass spectrometry (MS data analysis. Results Here we presented a plug-in-based software, BioSunMS, for both the management of patients information and serum peptide profiles-based statistical analysis. By integrating all functions into a user-friendly desktop application, BioSunMS provided a comprehensive solution for clinical researchers without any knowledge in programming, as well as a plug-in architecture platform with the possibility for developers to add or modify functions without need to recompile the entire application. Conclusion BioSunMS provides a plug-in-based solution for managing, analyzing, and sharing high volumes of MALDI-TOF or SELDI-TOF MS data. The software is freely distributed under GNU General Public License (GPL and can be downloaded from http://sourceforge.net/projects/biosunms/.

Group play

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tychsen, Anders; Hitchens, Michael; Brolund, Thea

2008-01-01

Role-playing games (RPGs) are a well-known game form, existing in a number of formats, including tabletop, live action, and various digital forms. Despite their popularity, empirical studies of these games are relatively rare. In particular there have been few examinations of the effects of the v......Role-playing games (RPGs) are a well-known game form, existing in a number of formats, including tabletop, live action, and various digital forms. Despite their popularity, empirical studies of these games are relatively rare. In particular there have been few examinations of the effects...... of the various formats used by RPGs on the gaming experience. This article presents the results of an empirical study, examining how multi-player tabletop RPGs are affected as they are ported to the digital medium. Issues examined include the use of disposition assessments to predict play experience, the effect...... of group dynamics, the influence of the fictional game characters and the comparative play experience between the two formats. The results indicate that group dynamics and the relationship between the players and their digital characters, are integral to the quality of the gaming experience in multiplayer...

Support robots for playing games : the role of player-actor relationship

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Feijs, L.M.G.; Graaf, de M.J.; Faulkner, X.; Finlay, J.; Détienne, F.

2002-01-01

The impact of simple support robots on computer game play is studied. Two physical agents, outside the computer screen, provide additional feedback to the user. The study incorporates an analysis of the game play in terms of rewards and punishment. Concepts and a realisation of the agents (hardware

How Does Neighborhood Quality Moderate the Association Between Online Video Game Play and Depression? A Population-Level Analysis of Korean Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Harris Hyun-Soo; Ahn, Sun Joo Grace

2016-10-01

The main objective of our study is to assess the relationship between playing online video games and mental wellbeing of adolescents based on a nationally representative sample. Data come from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS), a government-funded multiyear research project. Through a secondary analysis of W2 and W3 of data collected in 2011 and 2012, we examine the extent to which time spent playing online games is related to depression, as measured by a battery of items modeled after the abridged version of Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Revised (CESD-R). For proper temporal ordering, the outcome variable is drawn from the latter wave (W3), whereas all time-lagged covariates are taken from the earlier wave (W2). Multilevel regression models show that more game playing is associated with greater depression. Findings also indicate that, net of individual-level variables (e.g., gender, health, family background), living in a community with more divorced families adds to adolescent depression. Finally, a cross-level interaction is observed: the positive association between game playing and depression is more pronounced in an area characterized by a lower aggregate divorce rate.

Evaluating the Dietary and Nutritional Apps in the Google Play Store.

Science.gov (United States)

Schumer, Harleigh; Amadi, Chioma; Joshi, Ashish

2018-01-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the features of diet and nutrition apps available in the Google Play Store. A search was conducted in August 2017 using the Google Play Store database to identify apps related to diet and nutrition. Terms entered into the app search engine included 'diet apps' and 'nutrition apps'. The first 50 apps resulting from each search term was assessed. Duplicates were removed, and a comparative analysis was performed on the remaining diet and nutrition apps. A total of 86 diet and nutrition apps were identified. One hundred percent (n = 86) of the apps retrieved were freely available. More than half of the apps were applicable to a target user group of all ages (94%, n = 81). Stratified analysis across unique diet and nutrition apps (total, n = 72) showed a higher average rating for the diet apps (4.4) in comparison to that for the nutrition apps (4.3). Diet apps were more likely to be recently updated than the nutrition apps (72% vs. 66%), and diet apps were more likely to feature app purchase than nutrition apps (36% vs. 19%). The average rating was slightly higher for diet apps not featuring in-app purchases, but ratings were similar for the nutrition apps. A centralized resource is needed that can provide information on health-related apps to allow for systematic evaluation of their effectiveness. Further research needs to examine improved methods of designing app-store platforms and presenting the available apps to properly guide users in app selection.

Biorhythms in the activity of children during free play.

Science.gov (United States)

Wade, M G; Ellis, M J; Bohrer, R E

1973-07-01

The interaction between the arousal to action of environmental stimuli and recovery from that activity was presumed to generate biorhythms in the activity level of children. The level of environmental stimuli was manipulated by varying the play-group size and the apparatus, and higher environmental complexity was expected to produce more pronounced rhythms. The heart rates of 16 subjects playing in monad, dyad, and tetrad group sizes, in two playroom configurations, were monitored and spectral analysis used to locate significant biorhythms. There was a tendency toward 40-min (slow frequency) and 15-min (fast frequency) biorhythms. The group size manipulation produced the strongest biorhythmic behavior in the dyadic groups. Apparatus differences were not significant but the configuration containing a minimum quantity of play apparatus produced more variable activity than the configuration containing a large amount of play apparatus.

FROM THE TOTALITARIAN LANGUAGE TO THE INFORMATIVE DISCOURSE. A ROMANIAN MEDIA DISCOURSE ANALYSIS DURING THE ’90S

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LUMINIŢA ROŞCA

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This study aims at emphasizing the institutional transformations that occurred in the public environment following the events in December 1989 in Romania, focusing on the dismantling of mechanisms that marked the transition from the national communist propaganda discourse to the informative discourse, which laid the foundation of the public sphere in post-totalitarian Romania. The hypothesis is that Romanian media was slow in abandoning the communist press model, which explains the manichaeist discourse of nowadays media, the involvement of politics in media business and, last but not least, the extremely poor market – the poorest in Eastern Europe, as showed by the latest studies. The analysis has two components: the context analysis (historical, political, and ideological and the media discourse analysis, in line with the view of certain authors (C. Sparks with respect to the transitions in Eastern Europe and the role the media played in these processes. The discourse procedures of the totalitarian language were emphasized by investigating a corpus formed of the main publications of the printed press before and after 1989.

Information theoretic analysis of canny edge detection in visual communication

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Bo; Rahman, Zia-ur

2011-06-01

In general edge detection evaluation, the edge detectors are examined, analyzed, and compared either visually or with a metric for specific an application. This analysis is usually independent of the characteristics of the image-gathering, transmission and display processes that do impact the quality of the acquired image and thus, the resulting edge image. We propose a new information theoretic analysis of edge detection that unites the different components of the visual communication channel and assesses edge detection algorithms in an integrated manner based on Shannon's information theory. The edge detection algorithm here is considered to achieve high performance only if the information rate from the scene to the edge approaches the maximum possible. Thus, by setting initial conditions of the visual communication system as constant, different edge detection algorithms could be evaluated. This analysis is normally limited to linear shift-invariant filters so in order to examine the Canny edge operator in our proposed system, we need to estimate its "power spectral density" (PSD). Since the Canny operator is non-linear and shift variant, we perform the estimation for a set of different system environment conditions using simulations. In our paper we will first introduce the PSD of the Canny operator for a range of system parameters. Then, using the estimated PSD, we will assess the Canny operator using information theoretic analysis. The information-theoretic metric is also used to compare the performance of the Canny operator with other edge-detection operators. This also provides a simple tool for selecting appropriate edgedetection algorithms based on system parameters, and for adjusting their parameters to maximize information throughput.

Implantation of a safety management system information under the ISO 27001: risk analysis information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Gregorio Arévalo Ascanio

2015-11-01

Full Text Available In this article the structure of the business of the city of Ocaña is explored with the aim of expanding the information and knowledge of the main variables of the productive activity of the municipality, its entrepreneurial spirit, technological development and productive structure. For this, a descriptive research was performed to identify economic activity in its various forms and promote the implementation of administrative practices consistent with national and international references.The results allowed to establish business weaknesses, including information, which once identified are used to design spaces training, acquisition of abilities and employers management practices in consistent with the challenges of competitiveness and stay on the market.As of the results was collected information regarding technological component companies of the productive fabric of the city, for which the application of tools for the analysis of information systems is proposed using the ISO 27001: 2005, using most appropriate technologies to study organizations that protect their most important asset information: information.

RISK ANALYSIS IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATION OUTSOURCING

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Edmir Parada Vasques Prado

2011-12-01

Full Text Available This research aims at evaluating the risk analysis process in Information Technology and Communication (ICT outsourcing conducted by organizations of the private sector. The research is characterized by being a descriptive, quantitative and transversal type study, which was used the survey method. Data were collected through questionnaire, the sample is not random and we used a convenience sampling process. The research made contributions to understanding the risk analysis process in ICT services outsourcing, and identified statistically significant relationships between risk analysis, organization's size and its industry, and between risk analysis and diversity of outsourced services

Time Series Analysis of Energy Production and Associated Landscape Fragmentation in the Eagle Ford Shale Play

Science.gov (United States)

Pierre, Jon Paul; Young, Michael H.; Wolaver, Brad D.; Andrews, John R.; Breton, Caroline L.

2017-11-01

Spatio-temporal trends in infrastructure footprints, energy production, and landscape alteration were assessed for the Eagle Ford Shale of Texas. The period of analysis was over four 2-year periods (2006-2014). Analyses used high-resolution imagery, as well as pipeline data to map EF infrastructure. Landscape conditions from 2006 were used as baseline. Results indicate that infrastructure footprints varied from 94.5 km2 in 2008 to 225.0 km2 in 2014. By 2014, decreased land-use intensities (ratio of land alteration to energy production) were noted play-wide. Core-area alteration by period was highest (3331.6 km2) in 2008 at the onset of play development, and increased from 582.3 to 3913.9 km2 by 2014, though substantial revegetation of localized core areas was observed throughout the study (i.e., alteration improved in some areas and worsened in others). Land-use intensity in the eastern portion of the play was consistently lower than that in the western portion, while core alteration remained relatively constant east to west. Land alteration from pipeline construction was 65 km2 for all time periods, except in 2010 when alteration was recorded at 47 km2. Percent of total alteration from well-pad construction increased from 27.3% in 2008 to 71.5% in 2014. The average number of wells per pad across all 27 counties increased from 1.15 to 1.7. This study presents a framework for mapping landscape alteration from oil and gas infrastructure development. However, the framework could be applied to other energy development programs, such as wind or solar fields, or any other regional infrastructure development program.

A Taxonomy of Vocabulary Learning Strategies Used in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games

Science.gov (United States)

Bytheway, Julie

2015-01-01

Initiated in response to informal reports of vocabulary gains from gamers at universities in New Zealand and the Netherlands, this qualitative study explored how English language learners autonomously learn vocabulary while playing massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). Using research processes inherent in Grounded Theory, data…

Playing the Panopticon : Procedural punishment in Dark Souls

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Nuenen, Tom

2015-01-01

This article investigates discursive procedures in From Software’s 2011 videogame Dark Souls. By combining procedural rhetorics, discourse analysis, and autoethnographical research play, it is argued that Dark Souls features post-Panoptical gameplay mechanics of both continuous surveillance and

Towards a playful organization ideal-type : Values of a playful organizational culture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Warmelink, H.J.G.

2011-01-01

Numerous organizations have embarked on playful endeavors such as serious gaming (playing games with a learning/training purpose) and ‘gamification’ (applying game technology and principles to make existing practices more game-like). One could consequently theorize about the dawn of playful or

Meeting the reactor operator's information needs using functional analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, W.R.; Clark, M.T.

1980-01-01

Since the accident at Three Mile Island, many ideas have been proposed for assisting the reactor operator during emergency situations. However, some of the suggested remedies do not alleviate an important shortcoming of the TMI control room: the operators were not presented with the information they needed in a manner which would allow prompt diagnosis of the problem. To address this problem, functional analysis is being applied at the LOFT facility to ensure that the operator's information needs are being met in his procedures and graphic displays. This paper summarizes the current applications of functional analysis at LOFT

Environmental Quality Information Analysis Center multi-year plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rivera, R.G.; Das, S.; Walsh, T.E.

1992-09-01

An information analysis center (IAC) is a federal resource that provides technical information for a specific technology field. An IAC links an expert technical staff with an experienced information specialist group, supported by in-house or external data bases to provide technical information and maintain a corporate knowledge in a technical area. An IAC promotes the rapid transfer of technology among its users and provides assistance in adopting new technology and predicting and assessing emerging technology. This document outlines the concept, requirements, and proposed development of an Environmental Quality IAC (EQIAC). An EQIAC network is composed of several nodes, each of which has specific technology capabilities. This document outlines strategic and operational objectives for the phased development of one such node of an EQIAC network

Online-offline activities and game-playing behaviors of avatars in a massive multiplayer online role-playing game

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Zhi-Qiang; Zhou, Wei-Xing; Tan, Qun-Zhao

2009-11-01

Massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are very popular in China, which provides a potential platform for scientific research. We study the online-offline activities of avatars in an MMORPG to understand their game-playing behavior. The statistical analysis unveils that the active avatars can be classified into three types. The avatars of the first type are owned by game cheaters who go online and offline in preset time intervals with the online duration distributions dominated by pulses. The second type of avatars is characterized by a Weibull distribution in the online durations, which is confirmed by statistical tests. The distributions of online durations of the remaining individual avatars differ from the above two types and cannot be described by a simple form. These findings have potential applications in the game industry.

250 Information Needs and Information Seeking Behaviour and Use ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

User

constitute a user group of library services distinct from the faculty model. .... Also, very vital to note is the quality of information sources that are available to the ... libraries online resources play substantial role in students information seeking.

Playing with Mathematics: Play in Early Childhood as a Context for Mathematical Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, 2010

2010-01-01

Play is an essential part of young children's lives. This symposium highlights the integral role of play in young children's mathematics learning and examines the teacher's role in facilitating and extending this. Papers examine key tenets of play, contributing to theoretical understandings and presenting data on teacher's perceptions of play and…

Analysis of non-linear aeroelastic response of a supersonic thick fin with plunging, pinching and flapping free-plays

Science.gov (United States)

Firouz-Abadi, R. D.; Alavi, S. M.; Salarieh, H.

2013-07-01

The flutter of a 3-D rigid fin with double-wedge section and free-play in flapping, plunging and pitching degrees-of-freedom operating in supersonic and hypersonic flight speed regimes have been considered. Aerodynamic model is obtained by local usage of the piston theory behind the shock and expansion analysis, and structural model is obtained based on Lagrange equation of motion. Such model presents fast, accurate algorithm for studying the aeroelastic behavior of the thick supersonic fin in time domain. Dynamic behavior of the fin is considered over large number of parameters that characterize the aeroelastic system. Results show that the free-play in the pitching, plunging and flapping degrees-of-freedom has significant effects on the oscillation exhibited by the aeroelastic system in the supersonic/hypersonic flight speed regimes. The simulations also show that the aeroelastic system behavior is greatly affected by some parameters, such as the Mach number, thickness, angle of attack, hinge position and sweep angle.

Chromatic Information and Feature Detection in Fast Visual Analysis.

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Maria M Del Viva

Full Text Available The visual system is able to recognize a scene based on a sketch made of very simple features. This ability is likely crucial for survival, when fast image recognition is necessary, and it is believed that a primal sketch is extracted very early in the visual processing. Such highly simplified representations can be sufficient for accurate object discrimination, but an open question is the role played by color in this process. Rich color information is available in natural scenes, yet artist's sketches are usually monochromatic; and, black-and-white movies provide compelling representations of real world scenes. Also, the contrast sensitivity of color is low at fine spatial scales. We approach the question from the perspective of optimal information processing by a system endowed with limited computational resources. We show that when such limitations are taken into account, the intrinsic statistical properties of natural scenes imply that the most effective strategy is to ignore fine-scale color features and devote most of the bandwidth to gray-scale information. We find confirmation of these information-based predictions from psychophysics measurements of fast-viewing discrimination of natural scenes. We conclude that the lack of colored features in our visual representation, and our overall low sensitivity to high-frequency color components, are a consequence of an adaptation process, optimizing the size and power consumption of our brain for the visual world we live in.

A reflection on using play to facilitate learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margaret Martin

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Background: At the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District Nursing and Midwifery Practice and Workforce Unit, we use the framework of CARE (a compound acronym of Capacity, cApability, collaboRation and culturE to inform all aspects of work. The principles of practice development (Manley et al., 2008 also inform our work, a major focus of which is the use of coaching, action learning sets and active learning techniques. The use of questions and questioning is key to these. These techniques are part of our person-centred approach to professional development and learning. This article describes my reflections, using Gibbs’ model (1988, on the development of a questioning tool aimed at enhancing learning through play. The tool is an origami ‘chatterbox’, which was originally developed as part of a ‘poster’ presentation at the 2014 International Practice Development Conference in Toronto. Aims and objectives: This article aims to share a critical reflection on developing and using the chatterbox and to describe how this experience led to deeper reflections on the role of play in adult learning. Conclusions and implications for practice: The chatterbox has provided a simple and effective tool for introducing, practising and reinforcing the use of enabling questions. Its development allowed the categorisation of enabling questions. Personal reflections undertaken as part of the development of the tool inspired me to explore the literature about the role of play in adult learning. It has implications for supporting the learning of people who are interested in using enabling questions, by increasing their skill and confidence.

DOE waste information network: Data management and communications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fore, C.S.

1986-01-01

The U.S. Department of Energy's Waste Information Network (WIN) is an integral part of DOE's Hazardous Waste Remedial Actions Program. WIN has played an active role in the national program's mission to identify the magnitude and nature of existing DOE hazardous chemical and mixed radioactive waste streams and inventories and to provide a mechanism for disseminating pertinent information on technology activities. The information systems activity is structured into three key areas: data base development, data analysis, and data dissemination. As a result of this effort, several key data bases have been developed. Data dissemination is important to the use and management of the diversity of information and communication features developed by the program

The Correlation of Playing Role-playing Games and Students' Reading Comprehension of Narrative Text

OpenAIRE

Putra, Praditya

2014-01-01

This research investigates the correlation of playing Role-Playing Games and students' reading comprehension of narrative text. Thirty (30) ninth grade students who play Role-Playing Games participated in this study. Their frequency in playing Role-Playing Games and their ability in reading comprehension of narrative text are analyzed by using correlation research design. Correlation research design was used in this study in order to find out the tendency of relation between students' frequen...

Methods of information geometry

CERN Document Server

Amari, Shun-Ichi

2000-01-01

Information geometry provides the mathematical sciences with a new framework of analysis. It has emerged from the investigation of the natural differential geometric structure on manifolds of probability distributions, which consists of a Riemannian metric defined by the Fisher information and a one-parameter family of affine connections called the \\alpha-connections. The duality between the \\alpha-connection and the (-\\alpha)-connection together with the metric play an essential role in this geometry. This kind of duality, having emerged from manifolds of probability distributions, is ubiquitous, appearing in a variety of problems which might have no explicit relation to probability theory. Through the duality, it is possible to analyze various fundamental problems in a unified perspective. The first half of this book is devoted to a comprehensive introduction to the mathematical foundation of information geometry, including preliminaries from differential geometry, the geometry of manifolds or probability d...

Adaptive and Defensive Strategies in Post-Traumatic Play of Young Children Exposed to Violent Attacks

Science.gov (United States)

Chazan, Saralea; Cohen, Esther

2010-01-01

Twenty-three children, aged four to eight years, who had been exposed to violent attacks, were videotaped in individual 40-minute play sessions. These play narratives were recorded by a student researcher trained in narrative analysis and play therapy. She then sorted these play vignettes into three patterns of post-traumatic play, defined in the…

Experiencing the Elicitation of User Requirements and Recording Them in Use Case Diagrams through Role-Play

Science.gov (United States)

Costain, Gay; McKenna, Brad

2011-01-01

This paper describes a role-play exercise used in a second-year tertiary Systems Analysis and Design course, and the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the students' responses to a survey that solicited their perceptions of that role-play experience. The role-play involved students in eliciting user requirements from customers during a Joint…

IMMAN: free software for information theory-based chemometric analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Urias, Ricardo W Pino; Barigye, Stephen J; Marrero-Ponce, Yovani; García-Jacas, César R; Valdes-Martiní, José R; Perez-Gimenez, Facundo

2015-05-01

The features and theoretical background of a new and free computational program for chemometric analysis denominated IMMAN (acronym for Information theory-based CheMoMetrics ANalysis) are presented. This is multi-platform software developed in the Java programming language, designed with a remarkably user-friendly graphical interface for the computation of a collection of information-theoretic functions adapted for rank-based unsupervised and supervised feature selection tasks. A total of 20 feature selection parameters are presented, with the unsupervised and supervised frameworks represented by 10 approaches in each case. Several information-theoretic parameters traditionally used as molecular descriptors (MDs) are adapted for use as unsupervised rank-based feature selection methods. On the other hand, a generalization scheme for the previously defined differential Shannon's entropy is discussed, as well as the introduction of Jeffreys information measure for supervised feature selection. Moreover, well-known information-theoretic feature selection parameters, such as information gain, gain ratio, and symmetrical uncertainty are incorporated to the IMMAN software ( http://mobiosd-hub.com/imman-soft/ ), following an equal-interval discretization approach. IMMAN offers data pre-processing functionalities, such as missing values processing, dataset partitioning, and browsing. Moreover, single parameter or ensemble (multi-criteria) ranking options are provided. Consequently, this software is suitable for tasks like dimensionality reduction, feature ranking, as well as comparative diversity analysis of data matrices. Simple examples of applications performed with this program are presented. A comparative study between IMMAN and WEKA feature selection tools using the Arcene dataset was performed, demonstrating similar behavior. In addition, it is revealed that the use of IMMAN unsupervised feature selection methods improves the performance of both IMMAN and WEKA

Analysis of the Discourse of Power in Etel Adnan's Play "Like a Christmas Tree"

Science.gov (United States)

Alashqar, Hossam Mahmoud

2015-01-01

This paper seeks to investigate the sources of power in the discourse of an Arab-American writer, Etel Adnan's one act play, "Like a Christmas Tree." The play represents a heated argument between two figures who stand for two different ideologies and who fall within the frame of "binary opposition," transcultural…

Information Technology Systems Vulnerabilities Detecting based on Network’s Traffic Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dmitry Anatolevich Melnikov

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes traffic analysis procedure that is very effective and sometimes single countermeasure on counteracting of network attacks and information leakage channels (hidden control channels. Traffic analysis envisages certain measures to control the security of the Russian Federation information technology infrastructure and, most importantly, to establish the reasons of the occurred and predictable computer incidents.

The Power of Outdoor Play and Play in Natural Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Kemple, Kristen M.; Oh, JiHyun; Kenney, Elizabeth; Smith-Bonahue, Tina

2016-01-01

Young children's outdoor play serves important and diverse purposes, including physical exercise and opportunities for growth in all developmental areas. Unfortunately, the amount of time that children spend engaged in unstructured, child-directed outdoor play has diminished significantly in the past generation. In this article, the authors…

The Play Theory and Computer Games Using in Early Childhood Education

Science.gov (United States)

Gerkushenko, Svetlana; Gerkushenko, Georgy

2014-01-01

The article describes the role of play in child's development and identifies the characteristics of mature play in preschool age. The paper gives an overview of the computer games for preschool children used in Russian kindergartens. The research conducted with 50 Russian kindergarten teachers provides the analysis of the most important factors of…

[Play therapy in hospital].

Science.gov (United States)

Gold, Katharina; Grothues, Dirk; Leitzmann, Michael; Gruber, Hans; Melter, Michael

2012-01-01

The following article presents an overview of current research studies on play therapy in the hospital. It highlights individual diagnoses for which play therapy has shown reasonable success. The aim of this review is to describe the current status of the scientific debate on play therapy for sick children in order to allow conclusions regarding the indications for which play therapy is or might be useful.

Risky Play and Children’s Safety: Balancing Priorities for Optimal Child Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David A. Sleet

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Injury prevention plays a key role in keeping children safe, but emerging research suggests that imposing too many restrictions on children’s outdoor risky play hinders their development. We explore the relationship between child development, play, and conceptions of risk taking with the aim of informing child injury prevention. Generational trends indicate children’s diminishing engagement in outdoor play is influenced by parental and societal concerns. We outline the importance of play as a necessary ingredient for healthy child development and review the evidence for arguments supporting the need for outdoor risky play, including: (1 children have a natural propensity towards risky play; and, (2 keeping children safe involves letting them take and manage risks. Literature from many disciplines supports the notion that safety efforts should be balanced with opportunities for child development through outdoor risky play. New avenues for investigation and action are emerging seeking optimal strategies for keeping children “as safe as necessary,” not “as safe as possible.” This paradigm shift represents a potential for epistemological growth as well as cross-disciplinary collaboration to foster optimal child development while preserving children’s safety.

Rethinking information handling: designing for information offload

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Lone Koefoed; Pedersen, Peter Dalsgård; Eriksson, Eva

2005-01-01

This paper introduces information offload as a supplement way of responding to and designing for information. By presenting iFlush, a design concept aiming at providing the user with a possibility to offload information and then instantly dispose of it, the paper presents an approach towards desi...... designing for reflection and also serves as a critique towards information overload. Furthermore, the absence of reflection on the role played by HCI community in the constant augmenting of all spaces is addressed....

Playing with the city

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tosca, Susana; Marquez, Israel

2017-01-01

In this paper we introduce and describe the phenomenon of videogame street art as a specific kind of street art. We consider its materiality and significance, and conceptualize it in the light of a double manifestation of play: the playful appropriation of the city by the artist and the fact...... that street art encapsulates the act of playing videogames in a visual form. Digital play spills out of our computer screens and occupies the urban space with the explicit intention of involving spectators, who are invited to play in symbolic ways that actualize nostalgic memories of gaming and can be related...

Expressivity in Open-ended Constructive Play: Building and Playing Musical Lego Instruments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jakobsen, Kasper; Stougaard, Jeppe; Petersen, Marianne Graves

2016-01-01

This paper presents the findings from a case study in designing for open-ended constructive play for children. The study is based on a workshop where more that 150 children in ages 3-13 built and played their own musical instruments from Lego. The children used different sensors for playing...

To Play or Not to Play: Diverse Motives for Latino and Euro-American Parent-Child Play in a Children's Museum

Science.gov (United States)

DiBianca Fasoli, Allison

2014-01-01

A popular social discourse in the United States is that play is important for children's learning and that parental involvement maximizes play's learning potential. Past research has concluded that parents who hold this view of play are more likely to play with their children than those who do not. This study investigated the prevalence…

From the Totalitarian Language to the Informative Discourse. A Romanian Media Discourse Analysis During the '90s

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LUMINIŢA ROŞCA

2013-05-01

Full Text Available This study aims at emphasizing the institutional transformations that occurred in the public environment following the events in December 1989 in Romania, focusing on the dismantling of mechanisms that marked the transition from the national-communist propaganda discourse to the informative discourse, which laid the foundation of the public sphere in post-totalitarian Romania. The hypothesis we start from is that Romanian media was slow in abandoning the communist press model, which explains the manichaeist discourse of nowadays media, the involvement of politics in media business and, last but not least, the extremely poor market - the poorest in Eastern Europe, as showed by the latest studies. The analysis has two components: the context analysis (historical, political, ideological and the media discourse analysis (cf. P. Charaudeau, R. Fowler, John Hartley, in line with the view of certain authors (C. Sparks with respect to the transitions in Eastern Europe and the role media played in these processes. Also, we permanently referred to the theories of the public sphere explained by J. Habermas. The discourse procedures of the totalitarian language were emphasized by investigating a corpus formed of the main publications of the printed press before and after 1989.

Eighteen-month follow-up of a play-based intervention to improve the social play skills of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkes-Gillan, Sarah; Bundy, Anita; Cordier, Reinie; Lincoln, Michelle

2014-10-01

There is a well-documented need for interventions to successfully address the social difficulties of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. This study aimed to further the development of a previously conducted pilot of a play-based intervention. To achieve this, children's social play outcomes pre-post and 18-month following the intervention were examined by raters unaware of the study's purpose. Additionally, parents' experiences of the intervention were explored. Participants included five children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who had participated in a play-based intervention and their typically developing playmates; parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder also participated. Children and their playmates attended an 18-month follow-up play session and parents participated in semi-structured interviews. The Test of Playfulness was used to measure children's play outcomes in the context of social play with a peer, pre-post and 18-months following the intervention. Wilcoxon signed-ranks (Z) and Cohen's-d were used to measure effect. Thematic analysis was used to analyse reoccurring themes from parents' interviews. Children's social play outcomes improved pre-post intervention (Z = 2.02; P = 0.04; d = 1.6) and were maintained 18-month post intervention (Z = 0.14; P = 0.89; d = -0.4). Core themes included: the intervention as an enjoyable experience, a common language for talking about play/social interactions, an observable change in children's skills, transference of skills and the need for support to refresh learnt lessons over time. The intervention demonstrated preliminary and long-term efficacy in developing the social play skills of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Further research is required to optimise intervention feasibility and parent involvement prior to conducting a large-scale research. © 2014 Occupational Therapy Australia.

Meta-analytically informed network analysis of resting state FMRI reveals hyperconnectivity in an introspective socio-affective network in depression.

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Leonhard Schilbach

Full Text Available Alterations of social cognition and dysfunctional interpersonal expectations are thought to play an important role in the etiology of depression and have, thus, become a key target of psychotherapeutic interventions. The underlying neurobiology, however, remains elusive. Based upon the idea of a close link between affective and introspective processes relevant for social interactions and alterations thereof in states of depression, we used a meta-analytically informed network analysis to investigate resting-state functional connectivity in an introspective socio-affective (ISA network in individuals with and without depression. Results of our analysis demonstrate significant differences between the groups with depressed individuals showing hyperconnectivity of the ISA network. These findings demonstrate that neurofunctional alterations exist in individuals with depression in a neural network relevant for introspection and socio-affective processing, which may contribute to the interpersonal difficulties that are linked to depressive symptomatology.

Hazard, Vulnerability and Capacity Mapping for Landslides Risk Analysis using Geographic Information System (GIS)

Science.gov (United States)

Sari, D. A. P.; Innaqa, S.; Safrilah

2017-06-01

This research analyzed the levels of disaster risk in the Citeureup sub-District, Bogor Regency, West Java, based on its potential hazard, vulnerability and capacity, using map to represent the results, then Miles and Huberman analytical techniques was used to analyze the qualitative interviews. The analysis conducted in this study is based on the concept of disaster risk by Wisner. The result shows that the Citeureup sub-District has medium-low risk of landslides. Of the 14 villages, three villages have a moderate risk level, namely Hambalang, Tajur, and Tangkil, or 49.58% of the total land area. Eleven villages have a low level of risk, namely Pasir Mukti, Sanja, Tarikolot, Gunung Sari, Puspasari, East Karang Asem, Citeureup, Leuwinutug, Sukahati, West Karang Asem West and Puspanegara, or 48.68% of the total land area, for high-risk areas only around 1.74%, which is part of Hambalang village. The analysis using Geographic Information System (GIS) prove that areas with a high risk potential does not necessarily have a high level of risk. The capacity of the community plays an important role to minimize the risk of a region. Disaster risk reduction strategy is done by creating a safe condition, which intensified the movement of disaster risk reduction.

Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis: A Hypothetical Application to the Waas Region

Science.gov (United States)

Gilroy, Kristin; Mens, Marjolein; Haasnoot, Marjolijn; Jeuken, Ad

2016-04-01

More frequent and intense hydrologic events under climate change are expected to enhance water security and flood risk management challenges worldwide. Traditional planning approaches must be adapted to address climate change and develop solutions with an appropriate level of robustness and flexibility. The Climate Risk Informed Decision Analysis (CRIDA) method is a novel planning approach embodying a suite of complementary methods, including decision scaling and adaptation pathways. Decision scaling offers a bottom-up approach to assess risk and tailors the complexity of the analysis to the problem at hand and the available capacity. Through adaptation pathway,s an array of future strategies towards climate robustness are developed, ranging in flexibility and immediacy of investments. Flexible pathways include transfer points to other strategies to ensure that the system can be adapted if future conditions vary from those expected. CRIDA combines these two approaches in a stakeholder driven process which guides decision makers through the planning and decision process, taking into account how the confidence in the available science, the consequences in the system, and the capacity of institutions should influence strategy selection. In this presentation, we will explain the CRIDA method and compare it to existing planning processes, such as the US Army Corps of Engineers Principles and Guidelines as well as Integrated Water Resources Management Planning. Then, we will apply the approach to a hypothetical case study for the Waas Region, a large downstream river basin facing rapid development threatened by increased flood risks. Through the case study, we will demonstrate how a stakeholder driven process can be used to evaluate system robustness to climate change; develop adaptation pathways for multiple objectives and criteria; and illustrate how varying levels of confidence, consequences, and capacity would play a role in the decision making process, specifically

Performance of the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stoss, F.W. [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Environment, Energy, and Resources Center; Jones, S.B. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

1993-11-01

The Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) provides information and data resources in support of the US Department of Energy`s Global Change Research Program. CDIAC also serves as a resource of global change information for a broader international commonly of researchers, policymakers, managers, educators, and students. The number of requests for CDIAC`s data products, information services, and publications has grown over the years and represents multidisciplinary interests in the physical, life, and social sciences and from diverse work settings in government, business, and academia. CDIAC`s staff addresses thousands of requests yearly for data and information resources. In response to these requests, CDIAC has distributed tens of thousands of data products, technical reports, newsletters, and other information resources worldwide since 1982. This paper describes CDIAC, examines CDIAC`s user community, and describes CDIAC`s response to requests for information. The CDIAC Information System, which serves as a comprehensive PC-based inventory and information management tracking system, is also described.

Playfulness, Imagination, and Creativity in Play with Toys: A Cultural-Historical Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Møller, Signe Juhl

2016-01-01

The aim of this article is to present a wholeness perspective on the relation between creative imagination and children's activity when playing with toys. This is explored through a case retrieved from a 4-month experimental research project, specifically from a social fantasy play session. In order to analyse and examine children's play, the…

Playing with the Multiple Intelligences: How Play Helps Them Grow

Science.gov (United States)

Eberle, Scott G.

2011-01-01

Howard Gardner first posited a list of "multiple intelligences" as a liberating alternative to the assumptions underlying traditional IQ testing in his widely read study "Frames of Mind" (1983). Play has appeared only in passing in Gardner's thinking about intelligence, however, even though play instructs and trains the verbal, interpersonal,…

How, when and why do young women use nutrition information on food labels? A qualitative analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Wahlich, Charlotte; Gardner, Benjamin; McGowan, Laura

2013-01-01

Nutrition information (NI) on food packaging offers a public health tool that could be used to promote informed consumer choice and aid consumption of a healthy diet. Research indicates that the use of NI can lead to reduced energy intake and lower BMI, but little evidence is available regarding how, when or why people use NI when making everyday food choices. This qualitative study explored motivations and contexts surrounding the use of NI among 25 UK-based female NI users aged 23-35 years, using semi-structured individual interviews. Verbatim transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Six themes were identified: (1) understanding and (2) functions of NI, (3) health versus appearance motives, NI use in (4) affective and (5) symbolic food episodes, and (6) competing point-of-purchase influences. Notable observations included a difficulty in understanding and converting NI into personally meaningful terms, and eschewal of NI in settings where food plays an affective or symbolic role (e.g. food consumption after a stressful day, buying food for a dinner party). We suggest evidence-based directions for future research and offer policy and practice recommendations, including the adoption of clear and consistent NI formats.

Automatic circuit analysis based on mask information

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Preas, B.T.; Lindsay, B.W.; Gwyn, C.W.

1976-01-01

The Circuit Mask Translator (CMAT) code has been developed which converts integrated circuit mask information into a circuit schematic. Logical operations, pattern recognition, and special functions are used to identify and interconnect diodes, transistors, capacitors, and resistances. The circuit topology provided by the translator is compatible with the input required for a circuit analysis program

Lexical analysis in schizophrenia: how emotion and social word use informs our understanding of clinical presentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Minor, Kyle S; Bonfils, Kelsey A; Luther, Lauren; Firmin, Ruth L; Kukla, Marina; MacLain, Victoria R; Buck, Benjamin; Lysaker, Paul H; Salyers, Michelle P

2015-05-01

The words people use convey important information about internal states, feelings, and views of the world around them. Lexical analysis is a fast, reliable method of assessing word use that has shown promise for linking speech content, particularly in emotion and social categories, with psychopathological symptoms. However, few studies have utilized lexical analysis instruments to assess speech in schizophrenia. In this exploratory study, we investigated whether positive emotion, negative emotion, and social word use was associated with schizophrenia symptoms, metacognition, and general functioning in a schizophrenia cohort. Forty-six participants generated speech during a semi-structured interview, and word use categories were assessed using a validated lexical analysis measure. Trained research staff completed symptom, metacognition, and functioning ratings using semi-structured interviews. Word use categories significantly predicted all variables of interest, accounting for 28% of the variance in symptoms and 16% of the variance in metacognition and general functioning. Anger words, a subcategory of negative emotion, significantly predicted greater symptoms and lower functioning. Social words significantly predicted greater metacognition. These findings indicate that lexical analysis instruments have the potential to play a vital role in psychosocial assessments of schizophrenia. Future research should replicate these findings and examine the relationship between word use and additional clinical variables across the schizophrenia-spectrum. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modelling of plug and play interface for energy router based on IEC61850

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Y. F.; Yang, F.; Gan, L.; He, H. L.

2017-11-01

Under the background of the “Internet Plus”, as the energy internet infrastructure equipment, energy router will be widely developed. The IEC61850 standard is the only universal standard in the field of power system automation which realizes the standardization of engineering operation of intelligent substation. To eliminate the lack of International unified standard for communication of energy router, this paper proposes to apply IEC61850 to plug and play interface and establishes the plug and play interface information model and information transfer services. This paper provides a research approach for the establishment of energy router communication standards, and promotes the development of energy router.

Play the Mosquito Game

Science.gov (United States)

... and Work Teachers' Questionnaire Malaria Play the Mosquito Game Play the Parasite Game About the games Malaria is one of the world's most common ... last will in Paris. Play the Blood Typing Game Try to save some patients and learn about ...

Play vs. Procedures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hammar, Emil

Through the theories of play by Gadamer (2004) and Henricks (2006), I will show how the relationship between play and game can be understood as dialectic and disruptive, thus challenging understandings of how the procedures of games determine player activity and vice versa. As such, I posit some...... analytical consequences for understandings of digital games as procedurally fixed (Boghost, 2006; Flannagan, 2009; Bathwaite & Sharp, 2010). That is, if digital games are argued to be procedurally fixed and if play is an appropriative and dialectic activity, then it could be argued that the latter affects...... and alters the former, and vice versa. Consequently, if the appointed procedures of a game are no longer fixed and rigid in their conveyance of meaning, qua the appropriative and dissolving nature of play, then understandings of games as conveying a fixed meaning through their procedures are inadequate...

Open source tools for the information theoretic analysis of neural data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robin A. A Ince

2010-05-01

Full Text Available The recent and rapid development of open-source software tools for the analysis of neurophysiological datasets consisting of multiple simultaneous recordings of spikes, field potentials and other neural signals holds the promise for a significant advance in the standardization, transparency, quality, reproducibility and variety of techniques used to analyze neurophysiological data and integrate the information obtained at different spatial and temporal scales. In this Review we focus on recent advances in open source toolboxes for the information theoretic analysis of neural responses. We also present examples of their use to investigate the role of spike timing precision, correlations across neurons and field potential fluctuations in the encoding of sensory information. These information toolboxes, available both in Matlab and Python programming environments, hold the potential to enlarge the domain of application of information theory to neuroscience and to lead to new discoveries about how neurons encode and transmit information.

Open source tools for the information theoretic analysis of neural data.

Science.gov (United States)

Ince, Robin A A; Mazzoni, Alberto; Petersen, Rasmus S; Panzeri, Stefano

2010-01-01

The recent and rapid development of open source software tools for the analysis of neurophysiological datasets consisting of simultaneous multiple recordings of spikes, field potentials and other neural signals holds the promise for a significant advance in the standardization, transparency, quality, reproducibility and variety of techniques used to analyze neurophysiological data and for the integration of information obtained at different spatial and temporal scales. In this review we focus on recent advances in open source toolboxes for the information theoretic analysis of neural responses. We also present examples of their use to investigate the role of spike timing precision, correlations across neurons, and field potential fluctuations in the encoding of sensory information. These information toolboxes, available both in MATLAB and Python programming environments, hold the potential to enlarge the domain of application of information theory to neuroscience and to lead to new discoveries about how neurons encode and transmit information.

The mother centriole plays an instructive role in defining cell geometry.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jessica L Feldman

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Centriole positioning is a key step in establishment and propagation of cell geometry, but the mechanism of this positioning is unknown. The ability of pre-existing centrioles to induce formation of new centrioles at a defined angle relative to themselves suggests they may have the capacity to transmit spatial information to their daughters. Using three-dimensional computer-aided analysis of cell morphology in Chlamydomonas, we identify six genes required for centriole positioning relative to overall cell polarity, four of which have known sequences. We show that the distal portion of the centriole is critical for positioning, and that the centriole positions the nucleus rather than vice versa. We obtain evidence that the daughter centriole is unable to respond to normal positioning cues and relies on the mother for positional information. Our results represent a clear example of "cytotaxis" as defined by Sonneborn, and suggest that centrioles can play a key function in propagation of cellular geometry from one generation to the next. The genes documented here that are required for proper centriole positioning may represent a new class of ciliary disease genes, defects in which would be expected to cause disorganized ciliary position and impaired function.

Postphenomenological Play

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hammar, Emil

This paper aims to identify an understanding of digital games in virtual environments by using Don Ihde’s (1990) postphenomenological approach to how technology mediates the world to human beings in conjunction with Hans-Georg Gadamer’s (1993) notion of play . Through this tentatively proposed am...... amalgamation of theories I point towards an alternative understanding of the relationship between play and game as not only dialectic, but also as socially and ethically relevant qua the design and implementation of the game as technology....

Enhancing interest in statistics among computer science students using computer tool entrepreneur role play

Science.gov (United States)

Judi, Hairulliza Mohamad; Sahari @ Ashari, Noraidah; Eksan, Zanaton Hj

2017-04-01

Previous research in Malaysia indicates that there is a problem regarding attitude towards statistics among students. They didn't show positive attitude in affective, cognitive, capability, value, interest and effort aspects although did well in difficulty. This issue should be given substantial attention because students' attitude towards statistics may give impacts on the teaching and learning process of the subject. Teaching statistics using role play is an appropriate attempt to improve attitudes to statistics, to enhance the learning of statistical techniques and statistical thinking, and to increase generic skills. The objectives of the paper are to give an overview on role play in statistics learning and to access the effect of these activities on students' attitude and learning in action research framework. The computer tool entrepreneur role play is conducted in a two-hour tutorial class session of first year students in Faculty of Information Sciences and Technology (FTSM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, enrolled in Probability and Statistics course. The results show that most students feel that they have enjoyable and great time in the role play. Furthermore, benefits and disadvantages from role play activities were highlighted to complete the review. Role play is expected to serve as an important activities that take into account students' experience, emotions and responses to provide useful information on how to modify student's thinking or behavior to improve learning.

Playing Action Video Games Improves Visuomotor Control.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Li; Chen, Rongrong; Chen, Jing

2016-08-01

Can playing action video games improve visuomotor control? If so, can these games be used in training people to perform daily visuomotor-control tasks, such as driving? We found that action gamers have better lane-keeping and visuomotor-control skills than do non-action gamers. We then trained non-action gamers with action or nonaction video games. After they played a driving or first-person-shooter video game for 5 or 10 hr, their visuomotor control improved significantly. In contrast, non-action gamers showed no such improvement after they played a nonaction video game. Our model-driven analysis revealed that although different action video games have different effects on the sensorimotor system underlying visuomotor control, action gaming in general improves the responsiveness of the sensorimotor system to input error signals. The findings support a causal link between action gaming (for as little as 5 hr) and enhancement in visuomotor control, and suggest that action video games can be beneficial training tools for driving. © The Author(s) 2016.

A dynamical system perspective to understanding badminton singles game play.

Science.gov (United States)

Chow, Jia Yi; Seifert, Ludovic; Hérault, Romain; Chia, Shannon Jing Yi; Lee, Miriam Chang Yi

2014-02-01

By altering the task constraints of cooperative and competitive game contexts in badminton, insights can be obtained from a dynamical systems perspective to investigate the underlying processes that results in either a gradual shift or transition of playing patterns. Positional data of three pairs of skilled female badminton players (average age 20.5±1.38years) were captured and analyzed. Local correlation coefficient, which provides information on the relationship of players' displacement data, between each pair of players was computed for angle and distance from base position. Speed scalar product was in turn established from speed vectors of the players. The results revealed two patterns of playing behaviors (i.e., in-phase and anti-phase patterns) for movement displacement. Anti-phase relation was the dominant coupling pattern for speed scalar relationships among the pairs of players. Speed scalar product, as a collective variable, was different between cooperative and competitive plays with a greater variability in amplitude seen in competitive plays leading to a winning point. The findings from this study provide evidence for increasing stroke variability to perturb existing stable patterns of play and highlights the potential for speed scalar product to be a collective variable to distinguish different patterns of play (e.g., cooperative and competitive). Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Children's Play and Culture Learning in an Egalitarian Foraging Society.

Science.gov (United States)

Boyette, Adam H

2016-05-01

Few systematic studies of play in foragers exist despite their significance for understanding the breadth of contexts for human development and the ontogeny of cultural learning. Forager societies lack complex social hierarchies, avenues for prestige or wealth accumulation, and formal educational institutions, and thereby represent a contrast to the contexts of most play research. Analysis of systematic observations of children's play among Aka forest foragers (n = 50, ages 4-16, M = 9.5) and Ngandu subsistence farmers (n = 48, ages 4-16, M = 9.1) collected in 2010 illustrates that while play and work trade off during development in both groups, and consistent patterns in sex-role development are evident, Aka children engage in significantly less rough-and-tumble play and competitive games than children among their socially stratified farming neighbors. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development © 2016 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Jakob Kelemina on Shakespeare's plays

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirko Jurak

2007-12-01

development of drama and theatre in Slovenia, particularly as regards pro­ ductions and early attempts oftranslating Shakespeare's plays into Slovene. This information,  which may be particularly  relevant for foreign readers, ends with the year 1922, when Kelemina's last writ­ing about Shakespeare's plays appeared. In 2007 we commemorate the one hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary of Kelemina's birth and fiftieth anniversary of his death, which is another reason why his work on Shakespeare should be finally researched and evaluated. This study should also help expand our knowledge about Jakob Kelemina's contribution regarding translations of Shakespeare's plays for the Slovene theatre and for Slovene culture generally.

Performance Analysis of Information Services in a Grid Environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giovanni Aloisio

2004-10-01

Full Text Available The Information Service is a fundamental component in a grid environment. It has to meet a lot of requirements such as access to static and dynamic information related to grid resources, efficient and secure access to dynamic data, decentralized maintenance, fault tolerance etc., in order to achieve better performance, scalability, security and extensibility. Currently there are two different major approaches. One is based on a directory infrastructure and another one on a novel approach that exploits a relational DBMS. In this paper we present a performance comparison analysis between Grid Resource Information Service (GRIS and Local Dynamic Grid Catalog relational information service (LDGC, providing also information about two projects (iGrid and Grid Relational Catalog in the grid data management area.

Play your part

CERN Document Server

Ramsey, Gaynor

1978-01-01

Play your part is a collection of then situations in which students have to take on the roles of particular people and express their opinions, feelings or arguments about the situation. Play your part is intended for use with advanced students of English.

Playing to Investigate the Relationship Between Achievement and the Perception of learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steven Boyd

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the relationship between achievement and the perception of enjoyment and learning through the serious game, Playing Property.Playing Property is an audience response game forming the basis of workshops to engage junior high students, of 13 to 15 years old, and enhance their knowledge of property investment. The investigation extends to the analysis of trends in audience response decisions from 14 workshops, conducted over three consecutive years.Emerging findings present significant associations between enjoyment and the perception of learning. The relationship between achievement, measured in accumulated game score, and the responders’ perception of enjoyment is present but less significant. Further analysis supports a deeper relationship between play and learning, one where competition and other game play attributes are more effective in engagement than point scoring or rewarding.A more detailed evaluation may include staged testing of what may be learned and how well that learning endures, in comparison with other forms of teaching.

Penerapan Metode Role Playing Dalam Meningkatkan Motivasi Belajar Anak Usia Play Group

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dwi Anita Alfiani

2015-06-01

Full Text Available AbstrakSalah satu faktor penting dalam kegiatan belajar (KBM untuk anak usia play group adalah guru yang memahami berbagai macam karakterisik peserta didik dan peduli terhadap kebutuhan anak didiknya.Namun Dari hasil penelitian dan kenyataan di lapangan, menunjukkan bahwa pelaksanaan kegiatan belajar mengajar (KBM untuk anak-anak usia play group masih banyak kelemahan dan kekurangannya karenanya  guru juga harus mampu menguasai teknik dan metode dalam  mengajar B untuk anak.Anak didik pada usia play group.Dengan demikian, metode pembelajaran merupakan alat untuk menciptakan proses belajar mengajar.Subana dan Sunarti (2000 : 20 Berpendapat metode adalah rencana penyajian bahan yang menyeluruh dengan urutan yang sistematis berdasarkan approach tertentu. Jadi metode merupakan cara melaksanakan pekerjaan, sedangkan approach, dapat tumbuh beberapan metode. Role Playing adalah suatu cara penguasaan bahan-bahan pelajaran melalui pengembangan imajinasi dan penghayatan siswa. Pengembangan imajinasi dan penghayatan dilakukan siswa dengan memerankannya sebagai tokoh hidup atau benda mati. Permainan ini pada umumnya dilakukan lebih dari satu orang, hal itu bergantung kepada apa yang diperankan.Role Playing yakni memainkan peranan dari peran-peran yang sudah pasti berdasarkan kejadian terdahulu, yang dimaksudkan untuk menciptakan kembali situasi sejarah/peristiwa masa lalu, menciptakan kemungkinan-kemungkinan kejadian masa yang akan datang, menciptakan peristiwa mutakhir yang dapat diperkaya atau mengkhayal situasi pada suatu tempat dan atau waktu tertentu. berarti metode (Role Playing adalah metode pembelajaran yang di dalamnya menampakkan adanya perilaku pura-pura dari siswa yang terlihat dan atau peniruan situasi dari tokoh-tokoh sejarah sedemikian rupa. Dengan demikian  metode Bermain Peran (RolePlayingadalah metode yang melibatkan siswa untuk pura-pura memainkan peran/ tokoh yang terlibat dalam proses sejarah. Teknik ini juga digunakan untuk dapat

A cost-benefit analysis for materials management information systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Slapak-Iacobelli, L; Wilde, A H

1993-02-01

The cost-benefit analysis provided the system planners with valuable information that served many purposes. It answered the following questions: Why was the CCF undertaking this project? What were the alternatives? How much was it going to cost? And what was the expected outcome? The process of developing cost-benefit the document kept the project team focused. It also motivated them to involve additional individuals from materials management and accounts payable in its development. A byproduct of this involvement was buy-in and commitment to the project by everyone in these areas. Consequently, the project became a team effort championed by many and not just one. We were also able to introduce two new information system processes: 1) a management review process with goals and anticipated results, and 2) a quality assurance process that ensured the CCF had a better product in the end. The cost-benefit analysis provided a planning tool that assisted in successful implementation of an integrated materials management information system.

Exploring the effects of playing formations on tactical behaviour and external workload during football small-sided games.

Science.gov (United States)

Baptista, Jorge; Travassos, Bruno; Gonçalves, Bruno; Mourão, Paulo; Viana, João L; Sampaio, Jaime

2018-01-04

This study aimed to identify the effects of playing formations on tactical behaviour and external workload during football small-sided games. Twenty-three semi-professional footballers integrated three different playing formations in a 7-a-side small-sided game, according to their specific player positions: team 4:3:0 (4 defenders, 3 midfielders); team 4:1:2 (4 defenders, 1 midfielder, 2 forwards); and team 0:4:3 (4 midfielders, 3 forwards). Based on players' movement trajectories, the following individual and collective tactical variables were calculated: total distance covered and distance covered while walking, jogging, running and sprinting, distance from each player to both own and opponent's team centroid (Dist CG and Dist OPP CG, respectively), individual area, team length, team width and surface area. Approximate entropy (ApEn) was computed to identify the regularity of each variable. The team 4:3:0 promoted players' space exploration with moderate physical efforts. The team 4:1:2 promoted compactness and regularity of the team with increase in the physical efforts. The team 0:4:3 promoted team balance and adaptability on space coverage with increase in physical efforts. Concluding, different playing formations support different game dynamics, and variations on external load were directly linked with the variations on tactical behaviour. The analysis tactical behaviour through quantification of variability of patterns of play and quantification of distance covered at different velocities were the most useful information for the analysis of the effects of practice task manipulations. Therefore, in a practical sense, strength and conditioning coaches should plan and monitor these tasks in interaction with the head coaches.

Art of Play

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Froes, Isabel Cristina G.; Walker, Kevin

2011-01-01

Play is a key element in cultural development, according to the Dutch historian Johan Huizinga. Nowadays many of us interact with other people in online games and social networks, through multiple digital devices. But harnessing playful activities for museum learning is mostly undeveloped. In thi...

The Effect of Information Analysis Automation Display Content on Human Judgment Performance in Noisy Environments

OpenAIRE

Bass, Ellen J.; Baumgart, Leigh A.; Shepley, Kathryn Klein

2012-01-01

Displaying both the strategy that information analysis automation employs to makes its judgments and variability in the task environment may improve human judgment performance, especially in cases where this variability impacts the judgment performance of the information analysis automation. This work investigated the contribution of providing either information analysis automation strategy information, task environment information, or both, on human judgment performance in a domain where noi...

The Pedagogy of Play

Science.gov (United States)

Giesbrecht, Sheila

2012-01-01

Play is important. Environmental educators Sobel and Louv write about the relationship between children and outside play and suggest that early transcendental experiences within nature allow children to develop empathetic orientations towards the natural world. Children who play out-of-doors develop an appreciation for the environment and…

Performance and economic analysis of a plug and play regenerative brake for improving energy efficiency for traction elevators

Science.gov (United States)

Jeraputra, Chuttchaval; Tiptipakorn, Supun

2017-05-01

This paper presents performance and economic analysis of a plug and play regenerative brake for improving energy efficiency for traction elevators. The proposed regenerative brake recycles the energy loss of a dynamic brake and feeds into the grid while an elevator inverter is operating in the braking mode. According to field measurement of energy consumption, it reveals that the efficiency can be improved as much as 18%. The prototype of a regenerative brake 12 kW, 400V, 3ϕ is developed and tested on an elevator simulator. It is shown that it can transfer energy out of a DC capacitor before the dynamic brake kicks in. Further, an economic analysis is provided to carry out the payback period and the present worth equivalent to confirm economic feasibility.

Analysis of Computer Network Information Based on "Big Data"

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Tianli

2017-11-01

With the development of the current era, computer network and large data gradually become part of the people's life, people use the computer to provide convenience for their own life, but at the same time there are many network information problems has to pay attention. This paper analyzes the information security of computer network based on "big data" analysis, and puts forward some solutions.

Play and Productivity: Enhancing the Creative Climate at Workplace Meetings with Play Cues

Science.gov (United States)

West, Samuel E.; Hoff, Eva; Carlsson, Ingegerd

2016-01-01

The authors investigate the links between playfulness and creative organizational climates established by other research, using play cues--objects and sweets--they provide participants halfway through workplace meetings. Their findings suggest such cues significantly enhance the creative climate and playfulness in workplace meetings without…

Physical Characteristics Of Female Basketball Players According To Playing Position

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kucsa Richard

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Physical characteristics play an important role in the selection of young basketball players and the progress in their playing performance. The aim of the study was to analyze differences in chosen physical characteristics of Slovak U17 female basketball players with respect to their playing positions. We assumed, that there will be statistically significant differences between playing positions in each performance tests results. Chosen characteristics were analyzed for 14 players (mean/SD, age 16.34±0.82; body height 179.72±8.04 cm; body weight 67.62±7.10 kg; body fat 16.59±2.04 %; VO2max 46.20±4.71 ml.kg−1.min−1 according to their playing positions (guard, forward, center. Five specific performance tests for each player were conducted as a 3/4 Basketball court sprint, 10 × 5m Shuttle test, Lane agility drill, No-step vertical jump and Maximum vertical jump. The differences in tests results by playing positions were evaluated by one-way ANOVA. There were no significant differences found in results of chosen performance tests between playing positions (p>.05. In spite of fact, that there were no significant differences, we found interesting results between playing positions in physical characteristics. Guards had better results in speed (3.73±0.16 s, quickness (17.43±0.56 s and both lower-body power tests (47.16±3.06 cm; 57.00±3.40 cm than forwards and centers. Forwards had the best results in agility test (12.54±0.43 s. The results of this study produce useful information about physical characteristics of young basketball players according to their playing position and help to diagnose and improve their performance.

Free time, play and game

OpenAIRE

Božović Ratko R.

2008-01-01

Free time and play are mutually dependent categories that are always realized together. We either play because we have free time or we have free time because we play (E. Fink). Play, no matter whether it is children's or artistic play or a spontaneous sports game (excluding professional sports) most fully complements human existence and thereby realizes free time as a time in freedom and freedom of time. Therefore, free time exists and is most prominent in play. Moreover, one game releases it...

Integrated information system for analysis of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galperin, A.

1994-01-01

Performing complicated engineering analyses of a nuclear power plant requires storage and manipulation of a large amount of information, both data and knowledge. This information is characterized by its multidisciplinary nature, complexity, and diversity. The problems caused by inefficient and lengthy manual operations involving the data flow management within the frame-work of the safety-related analysis of a power plant can be solved by applying the computer aided engineering principles. These principles are the basis of the design of an integrated information storage system (IRIS). The basic idea is to create a computerized environment, which includes both database and functional capabilities. Consideration and analysis of the data types and required data manipulation capabilities as well as operational requirements, resulted in the choice of an object-oriented data-base management system (OODBMS) as a development platform for solving the software engineering problems. Several advantages of OODBMSs over conventional relations database systems were found of crucial importance, especially providing the necessary flexibility for different data types and extensibility potential. A detailed design of a data model is produced for the plant technical data and for the storage of analysis results. The overall system architecture was designed to assure the feasibility of integrating database capabilities with procedures and functions written in conventional algorithmic programming languages

Information,Informal finance,and SME financing

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

LIN Justin Yifu; SUN Xifang

2006-01-01

Informal finance exists extensively and has been playing an important role in small-and medium-sized enterprise (SME) financing in developing economies,This paper tries to rationalize the extensiveness of informal finance.SME financing suffers more serious information asymmetry to the extent that most SMEs are more opaque and can only provide less collateral.Informal lenders have an advantage over formal financial institutions in collecting "soft information" about SME borrowers.This paper establishes a model including formal and informal lenders and high-and low-risk borrowers with or without sufficient collateral and shows that the credit market in which informal finance is eliminated will allocate funds in some inefficient way,and the efficiency of allocating credit funds can be improved once informal finance is allowed to coexist with formal finance.

"Playing Hooky" Health Messages: Apprehension, Impression Management, and Deception.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrett, Ashley; Murphy, Melissa; Blackburn, Kate

2018-03-01

This study investigates playing hooky in higher education classrooms and associates this behavior with students' communicative dispositions, instructor perceptions, and language use. We define "playing hooky" as students skipping class and explaining their absence to their instructor with deceptive health messages. The purpose of Study 1, an online survey (N = 177), is to further understand the characteristics of students who engage in this type of deceptive health communication. Study 1 measures communication apprehension and perceived instructor credibility in students who had played hooky from class and those who had not. Findings reveal that students who communicate playing hooky health messages (a) reported more instructor communication apprehension and (b) perceived the instructors with whom they had played hooky to be less credible. Study 2 uses facework theory and MEH analysis to reveal the different linguistic strategies students use to communicate (a) truthful health messages (N = 165) and (b) deceptive heath messages (N = 82) to their instructor following an absence. Results demonstrate that students' facework strategies are more geared toward saving instructors' negative face in the deceptive health message condition. Implications of both studies are offered.

Geriatric information analysis of the molecular properties of mexidole

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. A. Gromova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: by using the pharmacoinformation profiling, to comprehensively assess all possible effects of the molecules of mexidol, choline alfoscerate, piracetam, glycine, and semax in accordance with the anatomical therapeutic and chemical (ATC classification system.Material and methods. Chemoreactomic, pharmacoinformation, and geriatric information analyses of the properties of the molecules are based on chemoreactomic methodology. The chemoreactomic analysis uses the information from the PubChem, HMDB, and String databases; the pharmacoinformation analysis applies the information from the international ATC classification and a combined sample of data from the Therapeutic Target Database (TTD, SuperTarget, Manually Annotated Targets and Drugs Online Resource (MATADOR, and Potential Drug Target Database (PDTD; geriatric information analysis employs the data on the geroprotective effect of individual substances from the PubChem database and the data available in the literature data on geroprotection from the PubMed database, which have been collected through the artificial intelligence system.Results and discussion. Mexidol is characterized by the maximum set of positive effects (the drug is used to treat CNS and cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders and has anti-inflammatory and anti-infective properties, etc.. Mexidol and glycine are predicted to cause the lowest frequency of adverse reactions, such as itching, constipation, paresthesia, vomiting, etc. Geriatric information assessments of changes in the life span of model organisms have shown that mexidol contributes to the higher life expectancy of C. elegans (by 22.7±10%, Drosophila (by 14.4±15%, and mice (by 14.6±3%; the control drugs do by no more than 6.1%.Conclusion. The results of the study indicate that mexidol has a high potential to be used as a geroprotector.

Playfulness and Openness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marchetti, Emanuela; Petersson, Eva

2011-01-01

What does it mean to design a playful learning tool? What is needed for a learning tool to be perceived by potential users as playful? These questions emerged reflecting on a Participatory Design process aimed at enhancing museum-learning practice from the perspective of primary school children...

Play framework cookbook

CERN Document Server

Reelsen, Alexander

2015-01-01

This book is aimed at advanced developers who are looking to harness the power of Play 2.x. This book will also be useful for professionals looking to dive deeper into web development. Play 2 .x is an excellent framework to accelerate your learning of advanced topics.

Information categorization approach to literary authorship disputes

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Albert C.-C.; Peng, C.-K.; Yien, H.-W.; Goldberger, Ary L.

2003-11-01

Scientific analysis of the linguistic styles of different authors has generated considerable interest. We present a generic approach to measuring the similarity of two symbolic sequences that requires minimal background knowledge about a given human language. Our analysis is based on word rank order-frequency statistics and phylogenetic tree construction. We demonstrate the applicability of this method to historic authorship questions related to the classic Chinese novel “The Dream of the Red Chamber,” to the plays of William Shakespeare, and to the Federalist papers. This method may also provide a simple approach to other large databases based on their information content.

Childhood and the right to play: from the didatization of the playful to the free expression of children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raquel Franco Ferronato

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This article is part of the theoretical studies carried out by the group of researchers participating in the project "Study of the profile of toy library in Brazilian Municipal Schools of Early Childhood Education". It is a bibliographical and documentary research, based on the legal guidelines on childhood (BRAZIL, 1990, BRAZIL, 2005, BRAZIL, 2005 and literature on children's education (SANTOS, 2000, POSTMAN, 2002; DAHLBERG; MOSS; PENCE, 2003; FRIEDMAN, 2005; KRAMER, 2007, among others.The study observed the childhood and the right to play. The analysis made it possible to understand that at the same time that the conception of childhood was modified in the legal documents recognizing it as a historical, social and citizen subject, the right to play also assumed new meanings such as that of essentiality in children's expressions. However, it is possible to consider that this expression. does not always find free space in the school, resulting in challenges and search for formative processes that allow the understanding of the place of play in the school, not only as a pedagogical activity, but as a free expression and language of the child Learns and develops.

Return to Play After Hip Arthroscopic Surgery for Femoroacetabular Impingement in Professional Soccer Players.

Science.gov (United States)

Locks, Renato; Utsunomiya, Hajime; Briggs, Karen K; McNamara, Shannen; Chahla, Jorge; Philippon, Marc J

2018-02-01

Arthroscopic hip surgery has been shown to be effective in returning professional athletes back to play at a high level of performance in different sports. Limited information exists regarding professional soccer players and their return to play. To determine the rate and time to return to sport for professional soccer players after hip arthroscopic surgery for the treatment of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) and to identify possible risk factors associated with a delay in returning to play. Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Professional soccer players who underwent hip arthroscopic surgery for FAI by a single surgeon between 2005 and 2015 were evaluated. Data retrieved from www.mlssoccer.com , www.fifa.com , www.transfermarkt.co.uk , and www.wikipedia.org included information on each player's professional career, participation on the national team, length of professional career before surgery, number of appearances (games) before surgery, time between surgery and first appearance in a professional game, and number of appearances after surgery. Other data were obtained from the patient's medical records. Twenty-four professional soccer players (26 hips) were included. The mean age at surgery was 25.0 ± 4.0 years (range, 19-32 years). A total of 96% of patients were able to return to play at the professional level. The mean time between surgery and the first professional game played was 9.2 months (range, 1.9-24.0 months). On average, players played in 70 games after surgery (range, 0-224). National team players were able to return to play significantly earlier than the rest of the players (median, 5.7 months vs 11.6 months, respectively; P = .018). Severe chondral damage and microfracture did not interfere with return to play. The arthroscopic management of FAI in symptomatic professional soccer players allowed 96% of them to return to play. Players with national team experience were able to return to play earlier than those without it. Severe chondral damage

Free riders play fair

OpenAIRE

Takikawa, Hirohide

2012-01-01

After the demise of the social contract theory, the argument from fair play, which employs the principle of fair play, has been widely acknowledged as one of the most promising ways of justifying political obligation. First, I articulate the most promising version of the principle of fair play. Then, I show that free riders play fair, that is, that their moral fault lies not in unfairness but in the violation of a rule by appealing to the example of three-in-a-boat. Finally, I conclude that e...

Agents, games and evolution strategies at work and play

CERN Document Server

Kimbrough, Steven Orla

2011-01-01

StartersContexts of Strategic InteractionGames in the Wild and the Problems of PlayMixed MotivesPlaying Prisoner's DilemmaFanning Out: 2x2 Games and ModelsStag HuntPareto versus NashAffording CooperationMarkets and ApplicationsCompetitive MarketsMonopoly StoriesOligopoly: Cournot CompetitionOligopoly: Bertrand CompetitionSupply Curve BiddingTwo-Sided MatchingIDS GamesOrganizational AmbidexterityBargainingTopics in Strategic AnalysisLying and Related AbusesEvolutionary ModelsBackward InductionSumming UpAppendicesGame ConceptsUseful Mathematical ResultsFurther Arguments on the Surprise ExamResources on the WebBibliographyIndex.

Information Extraction and Interpretation Analysis of Mineral Potential Targets Based on ETM+ Data and GIS technology: A Case Study of Copper and Gold Mineralization in Burma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wenhui, Du; Yongqing, Chen; Nana, Guo; Yinglong, Hao; Pengfei, Zhao; Gongwen, Wang

2014-01-01

Mineralization-alteration and structure information extraction plays important roles in mineral resource prospecting and assessment using remote sensing data and the Geographical Information System (GIS) technology. Choosing copper and gold mines in Burma as example, the authors adopt band ratio, threshold segmentation and principal component analysis (PCA) to extract the hydroxyl alteration information using ETM+ remote sensing images. Digital elevation model (DEM) (30m spatial resolution) and ETM+ data was used to extract linear and circular faults that are associated with copper and gold mineralization. Combining geological data and the above information, the weights of evidence method and the C-A fractal model was used to integrate and identify the ore-forming favourable zones in this area. Research results show that the high grade potential targets are located with the known copper and gold deposits, and the integrated information can be used to the next exploration for the mineral resource decision-making

Experiencing information literacy in Second Life

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Denyse B Rodrigues

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Brave or naive, but aware of the research, teaching and play potential, the authorsplunged into teaching part of an employee communication course at Mount SaintVincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia in Second Life, a virtual environment. Usingthe analytical tools of observational protocols, and discourse analysis of rhetoricalaccounts found in student and teacher reaction logs, discussion transcripts and focusgroup interviews, we situated ourselves among the learners to explore the thresholdconcept of information literacy in our classroom in Second Life.

Concussions and Head Injuries in English Community Rugby Union Match Play.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Simon P; Trewartha, Grant; England, Michael; Goodison, William; Stokes, Keith A

2017-02-01

Previous research has described general injury patterns in community-level rugby union, but specific information on time-loss head injuries has not been reported. To establish the incidence and nature of significant time-loss head injuries in English community rugby match play, and to identify the injury risk for specific contact events. Descriptive epidemiology study. Over 6 seasons, injury information was collected from 46 (2009-2010), 67 (2010-2011), 76 (2011-2012), 50 (2012-2013), 67 (2013-2014), and 58 (2014-2015) English community rugby clubs (Rugby Football Union levels 3-9) over a total of 175,940 hours of player match exposure. Club injury management staff reported information for all head injuries sustained during match play whereby the player was absent for 8 days or greater. Clubs were subdivided into semiprofessional (mean player age, 24.6 ± 4.7 years), amateur (24.9 ± 5.1 years), and recreational (25.6 ± 6.1 years) playing levels. Contact events from a sample of 30 matches filmed over seasons 2009-2010, 2010-2011, and 2011-2012 provided mean values for the frequency of contact events. The overall incidence for time-loss head injuries was 2.43 injuries per 1000 player match hours, with a higher incidence for the amateur (2.78; 95% CI, 2.37-3.20) compared with recreational (2.20; 95% CI, 1.86-2.53) ( P = .032) playing level but not different to the semiprofessional (2.31; 95% CI, 1.83-2.79) playing level. Concussion was the most common time-loss head injury, with 1.46 per 1000 player match hours. The tackle event was associated with 64% of all head injuries and 74% of all concussions. There was also a higher risk of injuries per tackle (0.33 per 1000 events; 95% CI, 0.30-0.37) compared with all other contact events. Concussion was the most common head injury diagnosis, although it is likely that this injury was underreported. Continuing education programs for medical staff and players are essential for the improved identification and management of

Information Concepts

CERN Document Server

Marchionini, Gary

2010-01-01

Information is essential to all human activity, and information in electronic form both amplifies and augments human information interactions. This lecture surveys some of the different classical meanings of information, focuses on the ways that electronic technologies are affecting how we think about these senses of information, and introduces an emerging sense of information that has implications for how we work, play, and interact with others. The evolutions of computers and electronic networks and people's uses and adaptations of these tools manifesting a dynamic space called cyberspace. O

Parents' Play Beliefs and Engagement in Young Children's Play at Home

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Xunyi; Li, Hui

2018-01-01

Play is a fundamental concept in early childhood development and education. As partners in the child's learning, parents play a crucial role in how play is defined, valued, and practised. The present study explores the constructs of parents' beliefs about and engagement in young children's play in two coastal cities in China. A sample of 483…

Social inclusion and its approach at Information Science: scientific production analysis in the area of information science periodicals between 2001 and 2010

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alex Serrano Almeida

2013-08-01

Full Text Available This study has the purpose to check how the social inclusion has been approached at Information Science area, from the scientific production area published at the area national periodicals. Over there, to verify which inclusion forms are recurrently approached at Information Science area; to show the use tendencies of social inclusion concept at the Science Information area scientific articles; to find how it presents the social inclusion concept connected to the information professional and analyze if it there is any association to other themes. It was realized searches in six periodicals at the period between 2001 and 2010. We used how analysis method the Bardin content analysis reference. The analysis corpus was constituted of 30 articles which approached the social inclusion theme. As the results, it was showed that the social inclusion on Information Science area publications, in general, is turned to digital inclusion and to the Information Science area publications uses. Besides, it was still identified connections with the information professionals, which one must serve as mediator between the information and the environment where information and users are inserted.

Biorhythms in the activity of children during free play1

Science.gov (United States)

Wade, M. G.; Ellis, M. J.; Bohrer, R. E.

1973-01-01

The interaction between the arousal to action of environmental stimuli and recovery from that activity was presumed to generate biorhythms in the activity level of children. The level of environmental stimuli was manipulated by varying the play-group size and the apparatus, and higher environmental complexity was expected to produce more pronounced rhythms. The heart rates of 16 subjects playing in monad, dyad, and tetrad group sizes, in two playroom configurations, were monitored and spectral analysis used to locate significant biorhythms. There was a tendency toward 40-min (slow frequency) and 15-min (fast frequency) biorhythms. The group size manipulation produced the strongest biorhythmic behavior in the dyadic groups. Apparatus differences were not significant but the configuration containing a minimum quantity of play apparatus produced more variable activity than the configuration containing a large amount of play apparatus. PMID:4714575

Problematic usage among highly-engaged players of massively multiplayer online role playing games.

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, Christopher S; Malesky, L Alvin

2008-08-01

One popular facet of Internet gaming is the massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG). Some individuals spend so much time playing these games that it creates problems in their lives. This study focused on players of World of Warcraft. Factor analysis revealed one factor related to problematic usage, which was correlated with amount of time played, and personality characteristics of agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and extraversion.

Constructing a model of effective information dissemination in a crisis. Information dissemination, Crisis, Crises, Tuberculosis, Dissemination of information, Meta-ethnographic analysis, Social marketing

OpenAIRE

Fiona Duggan; Linda Banwell

2004-01-01

A model of effective information dissemination in a crisis was developed from a Ph.D. study of information dissemination during a suspected TB outbreak. The research aimed to characterise and evaluate the dissemination of information to the community during the incident. A qualitative systematic review of the research literature identified twenty relevant studies. Meta-ethnographic analysis of these studies highlighted the key factors in effective dissemination. Consideration of these factors...

The Effect of Information Analysis Automation Display Content on Human Judgment Performance in Noisy Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Bass, Ellen J.; Baumgart, Leigh A.; Shepley, Kathryn Klein

2014-01-01

Displaying both the strategy that information analysis automation employs to makes its judgments and variability in the task environment may improve human judgment performance, especially in cases where this variability impacts the judgment performance of the information analysis automation. This work investigated the contribution of providing either information analysis automation strategy information, task environment information, or both, on human judgment performance in a domain where noisy sensor data are used by both the human and the information analysis automation to make judgments. In a simplified air traffic conflict prediction experiment, 32 participants made probability of horizontal conflict judgments under different display content conditions. After being exposed to the information analysis automation, judgment achievement significantly improved for all participants as compared to judgments without any of the automation's information. Participants provided with additional display content pertaining to cue variability in the task environment had significantly higher aided judgment achievement compared to those provided with only the automation's judgment of a probability of conflict. When designing information analysis automation for environments where the automation's judgment achievement is impacted by noisy environmental data, it may be beneficial to show additional task environment information to the human judge in order to improve judgment performance. PMID:24847184

The Effect of Information Analysis Automation Display Content on Human Judgment Performance in Noisy Environments.

Science.gov (United States)

Bass, Ellen J; Baumgart, Leigh A; Shepley, Kathryn Klein

2013-03-01

Displaying both the strategy that information analysis automation employs to makes its judgments and variability in the task environment may improve human judgment performance, especially in cases where this variability impacts the judgment performance of the information analysis automation. This work investigated the contribution of providing either information analysis automation strategy information, task environment information, or both, on human judgment performance in a domain where noisy sensor data are used by both the human and the information analysis automation to make judgments. In a simplified air traffic conflict prediction experiment, 32 participants made probability of horizontal conflict judgments under different display content conditions. After being exposed to the information analysis automation, judgment achievement significantly improved for all participants as compared to judgments without any of the automation's information. Participants provided with additional display content pertaining to cue variability in the task environment had significantly higher aided judgment achievement compared to those provided with only the automation's judgment of a probability of conflict. When designing information analysis automation for environments where the automation's judgment achievement is impacted by noisy environmental data, it may be beneficial to show additional task environment information to the human judge in order to improve judgment performance.

Informational-computer system for the neutron spectra analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berzonis, M.A.; Bondars, H.Ya.; Lapenas, A.A.

1979-01-01

In this article basic principles of the build-up of the informational-computer system for the neutron spectra analysis on a basis of measured reaction rates are given. The basic data files of the system, needed software and hardware for the system operation are described

Beyond self-selection in video game play: an experimental examination of the consequences of massively multiplayer online role-playing game play.

Science.gov (United States)

Smyth, Joshua M

2007-10-01

There is burgeoning interest in the study of video games. Existing work is limited by the use of correlational designs and is thus unable to make causal inferences or remove self-selection biases from observed results. The recent development of online, socially integrated video games (massively multiplayer online role-playing games [MMORPGs]) has created a new experience for gamers. This randomized, longitudinal study examined the effects of being assigned to play different video game types on game usage, health, well-being, sleep, socializing, and academics. One hundred 18- to 20-year-old participants (73% male; 68% Caucasian) were randomly assigned to play arcade, console, solo computer, or MMORPG games for 1 month. The MMORPG group differed significantly from other groups after 1 month, reporting more hours spent playing, worse health, worse sleep quality, and greater interference in "real-life" socializing and academic work. In contrast, this group also reported greater enjoyment in playing, greater interest in continuing to play, and greater acquisition of new friendships. MMORPGs represent a different gaming experience with different consequences than other types of video games and appear to pose both unique risks and benefits from their use.

Using Home Irrigation Users' Perceptions to Inform Water Conservation Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Warner, Laura A.; Chaudhary, Anil Kumar; Lamm, Alexa J.; Rumble, Joy N.; Momol, Esen

2017-01-01

Targeted agricultural education programs can play a role in solving complex water issues. This article applies importance-performance analysis to examine dimensions of water resources that may inform local water conservation campaigns in the United States. The purpose of this study was to generate a deep understanding of home irrigation users'…

Understanding Positive Play: An Exploration of Playing Experiences and Responsible Gambling Practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, Richard T A; Griffiths, Mark D

2015-12-01

This study is one of the first to explore in detail the behaviors, attitudes and motivations of players that show no signs of at-risk or problem gambling behavior (so-called 'positive players'). Via an online survey, 1484 positive players were compared with 209 problem players identified using the Lie/Bet screen. The study identified two distinct groups of positive players defined according to their motivations to play and their engagement with responsible gambling (RG) practices. Those positive players that played most frequently employed the most personal RG strategies. Reasons that positive players gave for gambling were focused on leisure (e.g., playing for fun, being entertained, and/or winning a prize). By contrast, problem gamblers were much more focused upon modifying mood states (e.g., excitement, relaxation, depression and playing when bored or upset). The present study also suggests that online gambling is not, by default, inherently riskier than gambling in more traditional ways, as online gambling was the most popular media by which positive players gambled. Furthermore, most positive players reported that it was easier to stick to their limits when playing the National Lottery online compared to traditional retail purchasing of tickets. Problem players were significantly more likely than positive players to gamble with family and friends, suggesting that, contrary to a popular RG message, social play may not be inherently safer than gambling alone. It is proposed that players (generally) may identify more with the term 'positive play' than the term 'RG' which is frequently interpreted as being aimed at people with gambling problems, rather than all players.

The "State of Play" in Australia: Early Childhood Educators and Play-Based Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Sumsion, Jennifer; Grieshaber, Sue; McArdle, Felicity; Shield, Paul

2014-01-01

This article provides an overview of the Education Meets Play study that will investigate early childhood educators' use of play-based learning, now mandatory under the "National Quality Standard". By building on what can be gleaned about educators' approaches to play-based learning prior to the implementation of the "Early Years…

Effect of playing tactics on goal scoring in Norwegian professional soccer.

Science.gov (United States)

Tenga, Albin; Holme, Ingar; Ronglan, Lars Tore; Bahr, Roald

2010-02-01

Methods that include an assessment of opponent interactions are thought to provide a more valid analysis of team match performance. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of playing tactics on goal scoring by assessing opponent interactions in Norwegian elite soccer. The sample included 203 team possessions leading to goals (cases) and 1688 random team possessions (control group) from 163 of 182 (90%) matches played in the men's professional league during the 2004 season. Multidimensional qualitative data using ten ordered categorical variables were obtained to characterize each team possession. The proportion of goals scored during counterattacks (52%) was higher than during elaborate attacks (48%), while for the control group the proportion using elaborate attacks (59%) was higher than when using counterattacks (41%) (P = 0.002). Multiple logistic regression analyses showed that, for the main variable "team possession type", counterattacks were more effective than elaborate attacks when playing against an imbalanced defence (OR = 1.64; 95% confidence interval: 1.03 to 2.61; P = 0.038). Assessment of opponent interactions is critical to evaluate the effectiveness of offensive playing tactics on the probability of scoring goals, and improves the validity of team match-performance analysis in soccer.

75 FR 35457 - Draft of the 2010 Causal Analysis/Diagnosis Decision Information System (CADDIS)

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-22

... Causal Analysis/Diagnosis Decision Information System (CADDIS) AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency... site, ``2010 release of the Causal Analysis/Diagnosis Decision Information System (CADDIS).'' The..., organize, and share information useful for causal evaluations in aquatic systems. CADDIS is based on EPA's...

Play with Me! Gender-Typed Social Play Behavior Analysis in Interactive Tag Games

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Moreno, Alejandro; Poppe, R.W.; Heylen, Dirk K J

2016-01-01

Promoting social behavior is one of the key goals in interactive games. In this paper, we present an experimental study in the Interactive Tag Playground (ITP) to investigate whether social behaviors reported in literature can also be observed through automated analysis. We do this by analyzing

Play with Me! Gender-Typed Social Play Behavior Analysis in Interactive Tag Games

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Moreno Celleri, Alejandro Manuel; Poppe, Ronald Walter; Heylen, Dirk K.J.

Promoting social behavior is one of the key goals in interactive games. In this paper, we present an experimental study in the Interactive Tag Playground (ITP) to investigate whether social behaviors reported in literature can also be observed through automated analysis. We do this by analyzing

Formal Concept Analysis for Information Retrieval

OpenAIRE

Qadi, Abderrahim El; Aboutajedine, Driss; Ennouary, Yassine

2010-01-01

In this paper we describe a mechanism to improve Information Retrieval (IR) on the web. The method is based on Formal Concepts Analysis (FCA) that it is makes semantical relations during the queries, and allows a reorganizing, in the shape of a lattice of concepts, the answers provided by a search engine. We proposed for the IR an incremental algorithm based on Galois lattice. This algorithm allows a formal clustering of the data sources, and the results which it turns over are classified by ...

Nosing Around: Play in Pigs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kristina Horback

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The predominant method of measuring welfare in swine focuses on overt physical ailments, such as skin lesions, lameness, and body condition. An alternative metric for assessing welfare in swine can be to measure the frequency and duration of positive behavioral states, such as play. Given that play occurs only when an animal's primary needs (food, comfort, safety, etc. have been satisfied, it has been suggested that play may be a sensitive indicator for assessing the welfare of non-human animals. Play has primarily been described in young piglets and is assessed via the occurrence of specific play markers. These play markers include overt bursts of energy like scamper, or more subtle social behaviors like nose-to-body contact. This review describes four areas of play for swine: locomotor, object, sow-piglet, and, peer play. From sporadic leaping to combative wrestling, play behavior allows for the fine-tuning of reflexive behavior which can enhance physical development, enrich cognitive abilities, and facilitate the maintenance of social bonds.

GeoQuest an Interactive Role Playing game

Science.gov (United States)

Maraffi, Sabina; Sacerdoti, Francesco; Scamardella, Alessandra

2015-04-01

The acquisition of knowledge and enhancing skills at actual time requires different approaches, involving students as much as possible, taking advantage of informal learning strengths and opportunities of formal learning. In this perspective, the game seems to be a perfect vehicle, not a single student's playing but a cooperative one. The GeoQuest project consists of an interactive role-playing game which involves all students using a patented system: the "teaching projector". This system allows the interaction of the class group through the use of smartphones and tablets, and it shows in real-time the game progress to the whole class. Our role-playing game is based on three routes at different degrees. The students, divided into several categories (physicist, chemists, disseminators, technicians, historians) have to follow a geological trail in order to discover the present and the past of the Earth. During the path, students have to pass some doors in teamwork; they allow assessment and represent the main sharing/disclosure moment. The doors allow to modulate the activities according to single lesson, teaching unit, module. Main Objectives: Working on PC by themselves, students could be even more alone: it needs a best fitting between ICT and cooperative learning. Role-playing helps students to reach their goals easily through cooperation; this in order to avoid the risk of loneliness of Inquiry Based Science Education, preserving entirely the educational value. Science Research now is based on field expert interaction: the role-playing game categories reflect the necessary team to get their goal. The several roles allow everyone to enhance their own skills. the "teaching projector" allows students to comment and to evaluate the groups activities and route them, providing real-time corrections to everybody. The playing categories represent all the aspects of the research areas: from scientists (physicists, chemists), to technicians, to disseminators and

Late Modern Play Culture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Karoff, Helle Skovbjerg

2008-01-01

and the Danish University of Education (among others) have been working with different kind of products, all referred to as PlAYWARE. Playware combines modern technology and knowledge about play culture in order to produce playful experiences for its players. This paper will exemplify how the concept of play can...... from one generation to the next. Because older children are no longer present as younger children grow up, the traditional "cultural leaders" are gone. They have taken with them much of the inspiration for play as well as important knowledge about how to organise a game. In that sense we can say...

Dynamic analysis of holiday travel behavior with integrated multimodal travel information usage : a life-oriented approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wang, B.; Shao, C.; Ji, X.

2017-01-01

The Integrated Multimodal Travel Information (IMTI) plays an important role in the evolution process of holiday travel behaviour, which is seldom investigated. To fill this gap, this study analyses holiday travel behaviour dynamics with IMTI usage, based on the life-oriented approach. IMTI usage is

The therapeutic power of play: examining the play of young children with leukaemia.

Science.gov (United States)

Gariépy, N; Howe, N

2003-11-01

The therapeutic function of play has been investigated in relation to recognized stressors such as hospitalization, illness and medical treatments for ill children. While medical treatments in the past 30 years have improved survival rates, children's psychological experiences and quality of life during and after their illness have received limited attention. The present study investigated the therapeutic effects of play on 3- to 5-year-old children with leukaemia compared with a control group of healthy children. The participants with leukaemia (n = 11) were from the external oncology clinic of an urban children's hospital; control children (n = 11) attended a day care centre. Measures included children's experience of stress, social and cognitive play behaviours, and daily mood. A series of manova revealed that the children with leukaemia, compared with the control children, engaged in (a) significantly fewer total play behaviours, and in particular less (b) parallel, (c) group and (d) dramatic play. Pearson correlations revealed significant relationships between reports of 'being happy' and play only for children with leukaemia. Quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed a pattern of repetitive play activities week after week for children with leukaemia, but not controls. Findings are discussed in light of the theoretical and practical implications for children undergoing treatment for leukaemia.

40 CFR 1400.3 - Public access to paper copies of off-site consequence analysis information.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

...-site consequence analysis information. 1400.3 Section 1400.3 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL... PROGRAMS UNDER THE CLEAN AIR ACT SECTION 112(r)(7); DISTRIBUTION OF OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION OF OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION Public Access § 1400.3 Public access to...

The Value of ICT from a Learning Game-Playing Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

McNeill, Michael C.; Fry, Joan M.

2012-01-01

This study evaluated an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) case study in physical education teacher education from a student perspective. Action research evaluated the impact of a range of ICT options on student teachers' learning to play as well as learning to teach games in a secondary school context. Although multiple media were…

Investigation research of core-basic information associated with the coupling analysis. Outline report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kataoka, Shinichi; Matsunaga, Kenichi; Ishihara, Yoshinao; Kawahara, Kenichi; Neyama, Atsushi; Nakagawa, Koichi; Iwata, Hiroshi; Mori, Koji

2001-03-01

The newest literature information in the foreign countries was researched, and this research showed the basic concept of the coupling analysis code to realize coupling analysis in near field of the geological disposal system. The outline of this research is shown in the following. (1) The combination of M (Mechanical) and C (Chemistry) is placed on the weak relations, because coupling analysis of the United States Yucca Mountain limits a site and the specifications of engineered barrier. (2) One of the purposes of this research is information collecting about coupling analysis code NUFT-C adopted in the United States Yucca Mountain. Therefore, we carried out an information exchange with the United States Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. We could collect the development purpose of analysis code, key function, and information such as a test case analysis. (3) The investigation of the analysis code concerned with the newest information of coupling analysis which contains the geochemistry process and 2 phase system was done based on the public information for the purpose of building some concept of the coupling analysis code, the extraction of the development issues. It could be understood about the future development strategy and the precaution in addition to a phenomenon to deal with, the current status of the coupling analysis technique as a result of the investigation. (4) It was cleared about the mission of the coupling analysis code and the requirement items (function, quality) by this research. Then, some development options were presented. (5) It was studied about the procedure of developing it to satisfy the above requirement toward the conditions that a site isn't selected, the short development. The tool (Diffpack) which could cope with the speed-up of the calculation time and visualization flexibly was effective, and it was summarized about the test case by using this tool, the key function of this tool as that result. (author)

Systematic review and meta-analysis: tools for the information age.

Science.gov (United States)

Weatherall, Mark

2017-11-01

The amount of available biomedical information is vast and growing. Natural limitations of the way clinicians and researchers approach this treasure trove of information comprise difficulties locating the information, and once located, cognitive biases may lead to inappropriate use of the information. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses represent important tools in the information age to improve knowledge and action. Systematic reviews represent a census approach to identifying literature to avoid non-response bias. They are a necessary prelude to producing combined quantitative summaries of associations or treatment effects. Meta-analysis comprises the arithmetical techniques for producing combined summaries from individual study reports. Careful, thoughtful and rigorous use of these tools is likely to enhance knowledge and action. Use of standard guidelines, such as the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, or embedding these activities within collaborative groups such as the Cochrane Collaboration, are likely to lead to more useful systematic review and meta-analysis reporting. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Guided play and free play in an enriched environment: Impact on motor development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Míriam Stock Palma

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of guided play and free play in an enriched environmentintervention programs using motor skill development in kindergarten children. Seventy-one children attending kindergarten classes were assigned to two experimental groups and one control group. Participants performed the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 before and after the intervention period. Results revealed that both boys and girls in the guided play group showed motor skill improvement, whereas no changes were observed in motor development in the boys and girls assigned to the free play in enriched environment group, nor in those in the control group. These findings indicate that the teacher's role in the guided play intervention was crucial to help preschool children to improve their performance.

Play to Learn, Learn to Play: Language Learning through Gaming Culture

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Ryu, Dongwan

2013-01-01

Many researchers have investigated learning through playing games. However, after playing games, players often go online to establish and participate in the online community where they enrich their game experiences, discuss game-related issues, and create fan-fictions, screenshots, or scenarios. Although these emerging activities are an essential…

Playing in childhood: importance and singularities for children with visual impairment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tania Mara Zancanaro Pieczkowski

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This study investigated what kind of playing and how visually impaired children play in the family and educational contexts, aiming at understanding playing and the role of toys in these children‟s development. The study was based on the historical-cultural perspective, mainly considering Vygotsky‟s studies. Empirical material was collected from five families with blind or short-sighted children and from the specialized institution these children attend. We adopted semi-structured interviews with parents and educators and observation of the relevant contexts. The data collected was categorized and theorized through content analysis. We concluded that the mediation of another person during playing enables the visually impaired child to develop confidence to explore the physical space, objects and to elaborate concepts.

Using task analysis to improve the requirements elicitation in health information system.

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Teixeira, Leonor; Ferreira, Carlos; Santos, Beatriz Sousa

2007-01-01

This paper describes the application of task analysis within the design process of a Web-based information system for managing clinical information in hemophilia care, in order to improve the requirements elicitation and, consequently, to validate the domain model obtained in a previous phase of the design process (system analysis). The use of task analysis in this case proved to be a practical and efficient way to improve the requirements engineering process by involving users in the design process.

Taking Play Seriously: Children and Play in Early Childhood Education--An Exciting Challenge

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Lillemyr, Ole Fredrik

2009-01-01

In the book the author presents from different perspectives what is understood by the phenomenon of children's play, why it is important, and how children's play challenge and stimulate the educator or caregiver in regard of educational values and practice, with the conclusion: play has to be taken seriously. A selection of theories is introduced…

Playing with Technology: Mother-Toddler Interaction Scores Lower during Play with Electronic Toys

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Wooldridge, Michaela B.; Shapka, Jennifer

2012-01-01

To investigate play with electronic toys (battery-operated or digital), 25 mother-toddler (16-24 months old) dyads were videotaped in their homes playing with sets of age-appropriate electronic and non-electronic toys for approximately 10 min each. Parent-child interactions were coded from recorded segments of both of the play conditions using the…

Middle school children's game playing preferences: Case studies of children's experiences playing and critiquing science-related educational games

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph, Dolly Rebecca Doran

The playing of computer games is one of the most popular non-school activities of children, particularly boys, and is often the entry point to greater facility with and use of other computer applications. Children are learning skills as they play, but what they learn often does not generalize beyond application to that and other similar games. Nevertheless, games have the potential to develop in students the knowledge and skills described by national and state educational standards. This study focuses upon middle-school aged children, and how they react to and respond to computer games designed for entertainment and educational purposes, within the context of science learning. Through qualitative, case study methodology, the game play, evaluation, and modification experiences of four diverse middle-school-aged students in summer camps are analyzed. The inquiry focused on determining the attributes of computer games that appeal to middle school students, the aspects of science that appeal to middle school children, and ultimately, how science games might be designed to appeal to middle school children. Qualitative data analysis led to the development of a method for describing players' activity modes during game play, rather than the conventional methods that describe game characteristics. These activity modes are used to describe the game design preferences of the participants. Recommendations are also made in the areas of functional, aesthetic, and character design and for the design of educational games. Middle school students may find the topical areas of forensics, medicine, and the environment to be of most interest; designing games in and across these topic areas has the potential for encouraging voluntary science-related play. Finally, when including children in game evaluation and game design activities, results suggest the value of providing multiple types of activities in order to encourage the full participation of all children.

Return to Play

Science.gov (United States)

Mangan, Marianne

2013-01-01

Call it physical activity, call it games, or call it play. Whatever its name, it's a place we all need to return to. In the physical education, recreation, and dance professions, we need to redesign programs to address the need for and want of play that is inherent in all of us.

Self-Informant Agreement in Well-Being Ratings: A Meta-Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, Leann; Schimmack, Ulrich

2009-01-01

A meta-analysis of published studies that reported correlations between self-ratings and informant ratings of well-being (life-satisfaction, happiness, positive affect, negative affect) was performed. The average self-informant correlation based on 44 independent samples and 81 correlations for a total of 8,897 participants was r = 0.42 [99%…

Pedagogical Positioning in Play--Teachers Being inside and outside of Children's Imaginary Play

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Fleer, Marilyn

2015-01-01

Although there is a long tradition of play pedagogy in early childhood education, teachers have mostly taken a passive role in children's play. There are relatively few studies of the pedagogical roles adults take from inside of children's imaginary play. This paper seeks to fill this gap through presenting the findings of a study where the play…

"Prey Play": Learning about Predators and Prey through an Interactive, Role-Play Game

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Deaton, Cynthia C. M.; Dodd, Kristen; Drennon, Katherine; Nagle, Jack

2012-01-01

"Prey Play" is an interactive role-play activity that provides fifth-grade students with opportunities to examine predator-prey interactions. This four-part, role-play activity allows students to take on the role of a predator and prey as they reflect on the behaviors animals exhibit as they collect food and interact with one another, as well as…

Partners in Play: An Adlerian Approach to Play Therapy. Second Edition.

Science.gov (United States)

Kottman, Terry

This handbook gives step-by-step instruction on using play therapy with children in school and private practice settings. The second edition builds on the fundamental instruction of the first edition and supplies play therapists with the necessary tools to strengthen therapeutic work with children-- especially those with problematic attitudes--…

Playful Learning and Montessori Education

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Lillard, Angeline S.

2013-01-01

Although Montessori education is often considered a form of playful learning, Maria Montessori herself spoke negatively about a major component of playful learning--pretend play, or fantasy--for young children. In this essay, the author discusses this apparent contradiction: how and why Montessori education includes elements of playful learning…

Information Systems Security Job Advertisement Analysis: Skills Review and Implications for Information Systems Curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Brooks, Nita G.; Greer, Timothy H.; Morris, Steven A.

2018-01-01

The authors' focus was the assessment of skill requirements for information systems security positions to understand expectations for security jobs and to highlight issues relevant to curriculum management. The analysis of 798 job advertisements involved the exploration of domain-related and soft skills as well as degree and certification…

Designing for Immediate Play

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pichlmair, Martin; Mech, Lena; Sicart, Miguel Angel

2017-01-01

This paper is concerned with designing for immediate play, the experience that a player has when joining a game designed for being played without particular preparation. Museum games, urban games, casual sports, and ad-hoc multiplayer video games are kinds of games that facilitate immediate play...... offer using examples and expert opinions. While most practices and game examples mentioned in this paper are from non-digital games, a special focus is put on the role of technology in immediately playable experiences. Still, the examined design dimensions are independent of the technological foundation...... of the game. This paper provides a starting point for designing better immediate play situations....

Enhanced reality live role playing

OpenAIRE

Söderberg, Jonas; Waern, Annika; Åkesson, Karl-Petter; Björk, Staffan; Falk, Jennica

2004-01-01

Live role-playing is a form of improvisational theatre played for the experience of the performers and without an audience. These games form a challenging application domain for ubiquitous technology. We discuss the design options for enhanced reality live role-playing and the role of technology in live role-playing games.

Learner Interaction in a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG): A Sociocultural Discourse Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Mark

2012-01-01

This exploratory study investigates the linguistic and social interaction of four intermediate EFL learners during game play in a massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG). Twelve illustrative episodes drawn from the participants' text chat, collected in four 70-minute sessions held over a one-month period, are analyzed from a…

Work Hard / Play Hard

OpenAIRE

Burrows, J.; Johnson, V.; Henckel, D.

2016-01-01

Work Hard / Play Hard was a participatory performance/workshop or CPD experience hosted by interdisciplinary arts atelier WeAreCodeX, in association with AntiUniversity.org. As a socially/economically engaged arts practice, Work Hard / Play Hard challenged employees/players to get playful, or go to work. 'The game changes you, you never change the game'. Employee PLAYER A 'The faster the better.' Employer PLAYER B

The Upside of Videogame Playing.

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Linda A

2012-12-01

In our research on the relationship between videogame playing and cognitive outcomes we found that children (n=481, 12 year olds) who played videogames more were more creative than those who played them less. Here we summarize these findings and propose new research to identify mediating cognitive factors influenced by videogame playing.

Intelligent Data Analysis in the EMERCOM Information System

Science.gov (United States)

Elena, Sharafutdinova; Tatiana, Avdeenko; Bakaev, Maxim

2017-01-01

The paper describes an information system development project for the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES, whose international operations body is known as EMERCOM), which was attended by the representatives of both the IT industry and the academia. Besides the general description of the system, we put forward OLAP and Data Mining-based approaches towards the intelligent analysis of the data accumulated in the database. In particular, some operational OLAP reports and an example of multi-dimensional information space based on OLAP Data Warehouse are presented. Finally, we outline Data Mining application to support decision-making regarding security inspections planning and results consideration.

Examining the role of MEDLINE as a patient care information resource: an analysis of data from the Value of Libraries study.

Science.gov (United States)