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Hollywood envy: Adopting film production and storytelling in the FMV games of the 1990s
Get PDFThe widespread appearance of Full Motion Video (FMV) games of the 1990s represents a significant development in the history of videogames. This study explores the FMV games of the 1990s, aiming to identify and examine common narratological traits borrowed from film production found across the variety of FMV game types of the 1990s. The overall aim of this exploration is to address the question of how the narrative form of the FMV game was influenced by film form and technique, and whether this influence was more prominent than in other games in this critical period in videogame history. However, how does one measure the impact of a particular technology, when it is impossible to compare against the counterfactual situation where the technology in question is absent? To stress the importance of a technology like FMV in games is always, to some extent, an exercise in alternative history, as one must effectively imagine the outcomes for an entire industry had the technology been absent. This is largely impossible, but there are several ways that such impact can be approximated. In the present paper, three such ways will be used. The first, is to illustrate the context in which FMV technology was applied within pre-existing game series, to see how FMV changed the form and style of the given series. Secondly, by examining the key traits of FMV games in their 1990s heyday, the divergence between FMV games and non-FMV games can be observed. Finally, the lasting impact of FMV can be observed by examining what FMV game features stayed behind after this game genre effectively (though never completely) disappeared at the end of the 1990s
Hospital-Based Food Environment Interventions to Improve Workforce Dietary Behaviour: A Systematic Literature Review
Get PDFThe aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of hospital-based interventions in improving eating patterns and food purchasing behaviours of hospital staff. Four electronic databases were searched from inception to November 2021 for intervention studies conducted within hospital retail food environments. Studies assessing outcomes pertaining to changes in eating patterns and/or food purchasing behaviour were included. Intervention effectiveness was defined as a statistically significant change in primary outcomes. Study quality was assessed independently by two researchers using the Mixed-Methods Appraisal Tool. In total, 20 studies were included in the review. 10 studies were moderate to low quality and almost half of the included studies (n = 9) utilised a quantitative descriptive design. Intervention modes included signage and health labels (n = 17), price modifications (n = 9), recipe modifications (n = 7), choice architecture (n = 5), altering healthy food availability (n = 5) and cooking processes (n = 1). Most studies (n = 15) contained more than one intervention type within their intervention design. Significant improvements in all primary outcomes were identified within eight studies, in which all had included a point-of-purchase prompt. Multicomponent interventions that incorporate point-of-purchase prompts may be useful in improving eating patterns and/or food purchasing behaviour of hospital staff. Further rigorous research identifying the long-term effectiveness of these interventions on improving health outcomes is warranted.</p
A dynamic modelling of the regional and international political economy of US aid to Pakistan
Get PDFThis study takes a unique approach by empirically examining the political economy of US aid to Pakistan in the South Asian regional strategic context, including the geopolitics of China, India, Iran, and Russia. Using the dynamic Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) method from 1971 to 2016, we find that US economic assistance responds positively to regional wars in Afghanistan and the Indo-Russian strategic relationship in the long run. The improvement in the relationship between India and Pakistan increases US economic aid in the short run but reduces it in the long run. The Pak-Iran economic relationship reduces US economic assistance in the short run while in the long run, it is positive but insignificant. Washington’s policy for South Asia is now more China-centric in reshaping regional geopolitics. The US-foreign-aid-policy instrument generally plays a dynamic role in achieving manifold strategic objectives in the South Asian region. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics of foreign aid and geopolitical relationships
Quantifying the locality of the food supply in a large healthcare organisation
Get PDFAIM: Shocks to the food system (such as extreme weather events, wars, and pandemics) are felt by institutional food systems. For hospitals, these shocks affect the quantity, quality, and variety of foods that can be offered to patients. One strategy to buffer the hospital food supply from external threats is to prioritise ingredients produced locally. Thus, the aim of the current research is to describe the country of origin of all foods purchased by a large, metropolitan healthcare organisation and to identify opportunities for improving the locality of the food supply.METHODS: This study was of a cross-sectional, observational design. The country of origin for all foods procured over a 1-year period by a large, urban healthcare organisation was determined by proportion of food budget spend. State of origin was identified for fresh fruit, vegetables, and meat. The organisation was in Queensland, Australia and utilised a cook-fresh, room-service foodservice model. Descriptive analysis was used to to determine the number of items and the proportion of budget spend on all foods produced in Australia, and by food category. Similar descriptive statistics were generated to determine the proportion of the budget spend on fresh fruits, vegetables and meats produced in Queensland.RESULTS: Over the 1-year period, 659 individual food items were purchased by the hospital foodservice, and 502 food items were included in the anlaysis. In total, 53% of the food budget was spent on Australian foods (100% Australian ingredients) and almost all fruit (73%) and vegetables (91%) were Australian grown. Procuring fresh fruit (28%), vegetables (35%), and meat (46%) from within the state was less common, and this may reflect the primary states of production across Australia, and seasonal variability of the food supply.CONCLUSIONS: Findings offer priority areas for improving the locality of the food supply. Future research to determine if procuring more foods locally has benefits to consistency of the food supply is warranted.</p
‘It’s what we should be doing anyway’: using financial incentives to promote relational continuity in Australian General Practice—a nested case study analysis
Get PDFBackground: Relational continuity is a fundamental component of primary care. The ‘Quality in General Practice Trial’ (EQuIP-GP), was a 12-month cluster randomized trial, designed to investigate whether financial incentives can improve relational continuity in primary care. Aim: To examine (i) how financial incentives are perceived and experienced by primary care patients, providers, and practice staff, and (ii) how clinical and organizational routines related to relational continuity are influenced by the introduction of a financial model designed to incentivize relational continuity.Design and setting: We used a mixed methods case study approach with six of the intervention arm practices participating in the EQuIP-GP trial. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients, providers, practice staff, and intervention facilitators. Intervention facilitators kept structured diaries to capture reflective notes. To contextualize results, practices completed a modified practice attributes survey and patients completed the Primary Care Assessment Tool at baseline and 12 months. Results: Patient-perceived relational continuity was not impacted by the intervention. Financial incentives were preferred for rewarding, as opposed to incentivizing, quality care; however, they were perceived as a blunt and inflexible instrument. The introduction of the incentive model increased attention to pre-existing organizational routines rather than creating new ones. Conclusion: Incentive models should be suitably flexible to accommodate diversity in patient and practice needs. Small changes can be made to existing practice routines that will improve awareness and conscientiousness of relational continuity. Further research should examine how feasible these routine changes would be in practices that do not already focus on continuity
Stimulus-Response Training Scenarios: Autonomic Nervous System Responses And Perceptual Workload
No full textPhysiological Demands Of Law Enforcement Officers During Active Shooter Training Scenarios
No full textDifferences In Law Enforcement Recruit Performance On A Validated Job-Specific Physical Abilities Assessment By Duration Of Academy Training
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