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Expertise in Professional Overwatch Play
No full texteSports is a rapidly growing phenomenon in competitive gaming. Expertise is an interesting topic to study in relation to eSports, as eSports athletes are considered among the most highly-skilled players of their particular games. Examining expertise not only advances the understanding of what skills compose professional play but enables a deeper study of learning in games; before learning processes are studied, it is important to detail what learning these processes should produce. This study examines expertise through the application of thematic analysis to a series of interviews with professional players of the eSports game, Overwatch. The goal of this study is to identify which skills are perceived to be important to professional-level play by professional players. Two overarching themes were identified, game sense and mechanics. A number of sub-themes were identified as important, including survival, anticipation / prediction, communication, thoughtfulness, aim, ability usage, movement and positioning, and team-based mechanical synergies
The Backbone of Decision Support Systems: The Sensor to Decision Chain
No full textUnderstanding the current situation is critical in every natural disaster or crisis. Therefore, there is a need for accurate and up-to-date information about the scope, extent and impact of a disaster. The basis for this information is data that is available through a variety of sensors. Decision Support Systems (DSSs) support decision makers in disaster management, response, and recovery by providing early warnings, insights into the current situation and recommendations for mitigation actions. For this purpose, raw sensor data needs to be collected, analyzed, integrated, and its semantics need to be automatically understood by the system. This series of processes forms a generic sensor to decision chain. In this paper, we present solutions and technologies to integrate those steps seamlessly, also demonstrating how each step of the pipeline can be visualized
Are You Hooked on Paid Music Streaming?: An Investigation into the Millennial Generation
No full textThe proliferation of free on-demand music streaming services (e.g., Spotify) is offsetting the traditional revenue sources (e.g., purchases of downloads or CDs) of the music industry. In order to increase revenue and sustain business, the music industry is directing its efforts toward increasing paid subscriptions by converting free listeners into paying subscribers. However, most companies are struggling with these attempts because they lack a clear understanding of the psychological and social purchase motivations of consumers. This study compares and contrasts the two different phases of Millennial generation consumer behaviors: the alluring phase and the hooking phase. A survey was conducted with 73 paying users and 163 non-paying users of on-demand music streaming services. The authors' data analysis shows two separate behavioral dynamics seen between these groups of users. While social influence and attitude are primary drivers for the non-paying users in the alluring phase, facilitating conditions and communication control capacity play critical roles for the paying users in the hooking phase. These results imply that the music industry should apply different approaches to prospective and current customers of music streaming services
Need We Train Online Instructors?: A Cautionary Study of Learning Outcomes and Student Satisfaction in Higher Education
No full textIn an online setting, it is critical to understand the factors that influence learning outcomes and student satisfaction. Group work or collaborative learning is frequently prescribed as a vital part of online classes. Learning outcomes and student satisfaction in both research and anecdotal evidence show mixed results. A qualitative, multi-case study was undertaken to determine the role of instructor training on student learning outcomes and student satisfaction within the online class using group work. Data were collected via an online survey, personal interviews, and document examination. Analysis of those data revealed that those instructors using group work who had the most training and assistance in the design and facilitation of classes had the highest level of student satisfaction as well as the highest student perception of good learning outcomes. The data show that the amount of instructor training undertaken had a major impact on how students reacted to the classes
Digital Participatory Platforms for Co-Production in Urban Development: A Systematic Review
No full textA renewed interest has appeared in citizen co-production of public services due to financial pressure on governments. While social media are considered an important facilitator, many digital participatory platforms (DPPs) have been developed to facilitate co-production between citizens and governments in the context of urban development. Previous studies have delivered a fragmented overview of DPPs in a few socio-spatial contexts and failed to take stock of the rise of DPPs. This article aims to provide a more comprehensive picture of the availability and functionalities of DPPs. Through a systematic review, 113 active DPPs have been identified, analysed, and classified within a citizen-government relationship typology. Almost a quarter of these DPPs demonstrate a realistic potential for online and offline co-production between governments and citizens. The article critically analyses the characteristics of these DPPs and explores their real-world applications in urban development. The article concludes with directions for further research
Rapid Relevance Feedback Strategy Based on Distributed CBIR System
No full textThis article describes the capability of online data storage which has been enhanced by the emergence of cloud datacenter development. Distributed Hash Table (DHT) based image retrieval system using locality sensitive hash (LSH) has provided an efficient way to set up distributed Content Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) frameworks. However, with the fixed LSH function adopted, LSH and other codebook-based distributed retrieval systems are facing the problem of flexibility, and also are difficult to satisfy the user's demand. In this article, LRFMIR is proposed to introduce semantic search into DHT based CBIR system. LRFMIR is established on a DHT based network, where a flexible result truncating strategy is employed to fuse provided results by using multiple features measurements. Experiments show that LRFMIR provides a higher accuracy and recall rate than single feature employed retrieval systems, and possesses good load balancing and query efficiency performance
Medical Tourism for Cosmetic Procedures: Credibility Assessment of Service Providers via Online Health Forums
No full textMedical tourism, especially cosmetic surgery in South Korea, is popular amongst Thai youths. Like their counterparts around the world, they rely on web resources—in particular, online health discussion forums typically offering many features—to research cosmetic surgery providers. However, these forums are not without challenges. This chapter conducted lab experiments with 207 business school students to assess the impact of these forums along with their 16 features on credibility assessment of service providers. The results show that the reliability of web information is critical in enhancing the credibility of both doctors and hospitals, and social influence is important for doctor credibility but not hospital credibility. In addition, only certain types of forum features impact the credibility assessment of cosmetic surgery providers
“Getting Bruised, Hurting, and Dirty” in School Leadership: Tempering the “Leprosy” of Careerism With a Sense of Calling
No full textTwo themes, 1) administrative managerialism and 2) human kinship, are used to theorize an effective approach to educational leadership. The first arises from difficulty in Canada recruiting teachers into school administration. The second emphasizes human kinship, where we speak out of our materiality as an earthling. These themes suggest a leadership profile grounded in valuable experience gained in the practice of teaching. The intent of this chapter is to theorize an approach to leadership that emphasizes a sense of calling toward the public good, where school leaders can engage in the action that nurtures a culture encouraging teachers to be responsibly accountable and students to engage in assiduous study. “Careerists” rarely take time to understand the complexities of a symbolic/cultural approach and the author's claim is that we need to select leaders who understand how to infuse the work of teaching with value, meaning, passion, and purpose
An Investigation Into the Personal Interaction Items Which Best Explain the Variation in Trust Within Automotive Supply Chains
No full textThe sustainability of automotive component suppliers is under threat due to various global challenges. Literature suggests that only the actual personal relationship can differentiate suppliers within supply chains. Literature further encourages more insight into the conceptualization of personal interaction and trust within supply chains. This paper reports on research that tested the importance of trust and its directional linear relationship with personal interaction. Personal interaction revealed a significant correlation with trust, indicating that actions of the Tier 2 supplier during the sourcing process can substantially influence trust with the Tier 1 buyer. It is accordingly crucial for automotive component suppliers to invest in strategies to increase their personal interaction with their buyers in order to promote trust and in turn to promote perceived customer value and customer retention
A Review of Transnational Higher Education
No full textThe internationalization of higher education is as old as the university itself. Recently, however, there has been a growing interest in transnational higher education, a specific form of internationalization that considers education as a product which can be packaged and sold abroad. The purpose of this chapter is to review the phenomenon of transnational higher education. More specifically, it aims to 1) define transnational higher education, situating it within globalization and the internationalization of higher education, 2) enumerate the various perspectives on transnational higher education, and 3) provide guidelines for the appropriate conduct of transnational higher education