152 research outputs found
Playing Ethnography: A study of emergent behaviour in online games and virtual worlds
No full textThis study concerns itself with the relationship between game design and emergent social behaviour in massively multiplayer online games and virtual worlds. This thesis argues for a legitimisation of the study of ‘communities of play’, alongside communities perceived as more ‘serious’, such as communities of interest or practice. It also identifies six factors that contribute to emergent social behaviour and investigates the relationship between group and individual identity, and the emergent ways in which these arise from and intersect with the features and mechanics of the game worlds themselves.
Methodology: Under the rubric of ‘design research’, this study was conducted as an ethnographic intervention, an anthropological investigation that deliberately privileged the online experience whilst acknowledging the performative nature of both game play and the research process itself. The research was informed by years of professional practical experience in game design and playtesting, as well as by qualitative methods derived from the fields of Anthropology, Sociology, Computermediated Communications and the emerging field of Game Studies. The process of conducting the eighteen-month ethnographic study followed the progress of a sub-set of members of the ‘Uru Diaspora,’ a group of 10,000 players who were made refugees when the massively multiplayer game ‘Uru: Ages Beyond Myst’ was closed in February of 2004. Uru refugees immigrated into other virtual worlds, using their features and capabilities to create ethnic communities that emulated the culture, artefacts and environments of the original Uru world. Over time, players developed ‘hybrid’ cultures, integrating the Uru culture with that of their new homes, and eventually creating entirely new Uru and Myst-inspired content.
The outcome is the identification of six factors that serve as ‘engines for emergence’ and discusses their relationship to each other, to game design, and to emergent behaviour.
These include:
• Play Ecosystems: Fixed-Synthetic vs. Co-Created Worlds: Online games and virtual worlds exist along a spectrum, with environments entirely authored by the designer at one end, and those comprised primarily of player-created content and assets on the other, with a range of variations between. The type of world will impact the sort of emergent behaviour that occurs, and worlds that include player-created content will be more inclined to promote emergent behaviour.
• Communities of Play: Distributed groups formed around play demonstrate distinct characteristics based on shared values and play styles. The study describes in detail one such play community, and analyses the ways in which its characteristic play styles drove its emergent behaviours.
• The Social Construction of Avatar Identity: Individual avatar identity is constructed through an emergent process engaging social feedback.
• Intersubjective Flow: A social reading of the psychological notion of ‘flow’ that describes the way in which flow dynamics occur in a social context through play.
• Productive Play: Countering the traditional contention that play is inherently ‘unproductive’ as some scholars suggest, the thesis argues that play can be seen as a form of cultural production, as well as fulcrum for creative activity.
• Porous Magic Circles and the ‘Ludisphere’: The magic circle, which bounds play activities, is more porous than game scholars had previously believed. The term ‘ludisphere' is used to describe the larger context of aggregated play space via the Internet. Also identified are leakages between ‘virtual worlds’ and ‘real life’.
By identifying these factors and attempting to trace their roots in game design, the study aims to contribute a new approach to the making and analysis of user experience and creativity ‘in game’. The thesis posits that by achieving a deeper cultural understanding of the relationship between design and emergent behaviour, it is possible to make steps forward in the study of ‘emergence’ itself as a design
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El feminismo de Estado en España: El Instituto de la Mujer (1983-2003)
No full textDesde aproximadamente los años setenta se han fundado en la mayor parte de los países del mundo instituciones cuyo principal cometido reside en mejorar la condición de las mujeres como grupo y erosionar las desigualdades entre éstas y los hombres. También se han establecido organismos similares en los ámbitos regional y local. En ciencias sociales este conjunto de instituciones se denomina "feminismo de Estado", "feminismo institucional" o "feminismo oficial", conociéndose como "feministas de Estado" a las personas que trabajan en estos "organismos (o agencias) de igualdad" o "instituciones feministas" (McBride y Mazur 2004, 2; Stetson y Mazur 1995, 1-2).
El feminismo de Estado en España: El Instituto de la Mujer, 1983-1994
No full textEste trabajo contiene un análisis del Instituto de la Mujer (IM), el principal organismo público de igualdad de la Administración central en España. Al igual que las instituciones feministas de otros países, el IM fue establecido con el propósito de impulsar el establecimiento de políticas que contribuyeran a mejorar la posición de las mujeres en la sociedad. La primera parte del artículo examina el proceso de creación del IM, prestando especial atención al papel desempeñado por el movimiento asociativo de mujeres, así como a la importancia de las influencias internacionales. Se estudian además las principales características formales de la institución. La segunda parte contiene una evaluación (provisional) del impacto del IM en la formulación y puesta en práctica de las políticas de igualdad. Por último, se examinan el carácter y las consecuencias de las relaciones formales e informales existentes entre los miembros del movimiento feminista y del feminismo institucional.Publicad
Child care in Spain after 1975: The educational rationale, the Catholic Church, and women in civil society
No full textThis extract is taken from the author's original manuscript. The definitive version of this piece may be found in "Childcare and Preschool Development in Europe", edited by Kirsten Scheiwe and Harry Willekens, which can be purchased from www.palgrave.co
. 70 Nueva Época (2003) abril-junio. Antropología. Boletín Oficial del Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia
No full text- El Tribunal de Vagos de la Ciudad de México del siglo XIX. Una introducción por Lucio E. Maldonado Ojeda. - Gustavo A. Madero: empresario y revolucionario por Begoña C. Hernández y Lazo. - El ritual del volador en las doctrinas de Xochimilco durante el siglo XVIII por Jesús Jáuregui y Laura Magriñá. - La colección de arte barroco de la catedral de Cuernavaca. Temas y obras escogidas por Ma. Celia Fontana Calvo. - Educación indígena: balance y perspectivas por José Íñigo Aguilar Medina y Ma. Sara Molinari Soriano. - Mujeres indígenas migrantes y sus experiencias urbanas por Marta Romer. - El descarnado de pieles: un oficio de la curtiduría y sus riesgos para la salud por Martha Hernández Cáliz y Faustino Hernández Pérez. - Pasos perseguidos por Salvador Rueda Smithers. - Comercio fotográfico en el Centro Histórico de la Ciudad de México. Notas por Mireya B. Matus
Optimization of infectious bronchitis virus-like particle expression in Nicotiana benthamiana as potential poultry vaccines
No full textAUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS : Conceptualization: Kamogelo M. Sepotokele, Martha M. O’Kennedy.
Data curation: Kamogelo M. Sepotokele, Celia Abolnik.
Formal analysis: Kamogelo M. Sepotokele, Celia Abolnik.
Funding acquisition: Celia Abolnik.
Investigation: Kamogelo M. Sepotokele, Martha M. O’Kennedy, Daniel B. R. Wandrag, Celia
Abolnik.
Methodology: Kamogelo M. Sepotokele, Martha M. O’Kennedy, Celia Abolnik.
Resources: Martha M. O’Kennedy, Celia Abolnik.
Supervision: Martha M. O’Kennedy, Celia Abolnik.
Writing – original draft: Kamogelo M. Sepotokele, Celia Abolnik.
Writing – review & editing: Kamogelo M. Sepotokele, Martha M. O’Kennedy, Daniel B. R.
Wandrag, Celia Abolnik.SUPPORTING INFORMATION : FIGURE S1. Protein sequence of the synthetic gene mIBV-S2P. The murine signal peptide is highlighted in blue, the linker in magenta, and the S2 domain in grey with heptad repeat 1 in yellow, the central helix in green, and the two stabilizing proline substitutions in boldface and underlined. FIGURE S2. Protein confirmation using LC-MS/MS-based peptide sequencing of the modified IBV spike protein constructs compared in this study (A) mIBV-S2P, (B) mIBV-- S2P-IAV-H6TM/CT, and (C) mIBV-S2P-NDV-FTM/CT. The percentage sequence coverage is indicated above with several unique peptides identified with > 90% confidence. Peptides with > 95% confidence are highlighted in green, those with 50–95% confidence in yellow, and those with <50% confidence in red. No peptides were identified for the non-highlighted regions of the sequence (grey). FIGURE S3. Densitometric analysis by SDS-PAGE of partially-purified mIBV-S2P-NDV-FTM/ CT VLPs. Lane 1: SeeBluePlus2 protein ladder; Lane 2: BSA Standard 100 ng/μl; Lane 3: BSA Standard 150 ng/μl; Lane 4: BSA Standard 200 ng/μl; Lane 5: BSA Standard 250 ng/μl; Lane 6: BSA Standard 300 ng/μl; Lane 7: Dialysed VLP sample (25 μl); Lane 8: Dialysed VLP sample (10 μl); Lane 9: PageRuler Prestained protein ladder; Lane 10: Positive control (Live QX-like IBV); Lane 11: Negative control (pEAQ-HT-empty). FIGURE S4. Original uncropped, unedited SDS-PAGE of partially-purified plant-produced IBV S protein Lane 1: molecular weight marker; Lane 2: plant-expressed empty pEAQ-HT vector; Lane 3: purified live QX-like IBV strain ck/ZA/3665/11; Lanes 4–7: mIBV-S2P:M:E:N fractions 2 (lanes 4 and 6) and 3 (lanes 5 and 7) extracted in either PBS or bicine as indicated; Lanes 8–11: mIBV-S2P-IAV-H6TM/CT:M2 fractions 2 (lanes 8 and 10) and 3 (lanes 9 and 11) extracted in either PBS or bicine as indicated; Lanes 12–15: mIBV-S2P-NDV-FTM/ CT:NDV Matrix fractions 2 (lanes 12 and 14) and 3 (lanes 13 and 15) extracted in either PBS or bicine as indicated. FIGURE S5. Original uncropped, unedited Western blot (B) of partially-purified plant-produced IBV S protein (Primary antibody–IBV antisera, secondary antibody—Goat-α- Chicken IgY HRP). Lane 1: molecular weight marker; Lane 2: plant-expressed empty pEAQ-HT vector; Lane 3: purified live QX-like IBV strain ck/ZA/3665/11; Lanes 4–7: mIBV-S2P:M:E:N fractions 2 (lanes 4 and 6) and 3 (lanes 5 and 7) extracted in either PBS or bicine as indicated; Lanes 8–11: mIBV-S2P-IAV-H6TM/CT:M2 fractions 2 (lanes 8 and 10) and 3 (lanes 9 and 11) extracted in either PBS or bicine as indicated; Lanes 12–15: mIBV-S2P-NDV-FTM/CT:NDV Matrix fractions 2 (lanes 12 and 14) and 3 (lanes 13 and 15) extracted in either PBS or bicine as indicated. RAW IMAGES S1.Infectious bronchitis (IB) is a highly contagious, acute respiratory disease in chickens, with a
severe economic impact on poultry production globally. The rapid emergence of regional
variants of this Gammacoronavirus warrants new vaccine approaches that are more
humane and rapid to produce than the current embryonated chicken egg-based method
used for IB variant vaccine propagation (chemically-inactivated whole viruses). The production
of virus-like particles (VLPs) expressing the Spike (S) glycoprotein, the major antigen
which induces neutralizing antibodies, has not been achieved in planta up until now. In this
study, using the Agrobacterium-mediated Nicotiana benthamiana (tobacco plant) transient
expression system, the highest levels of VLPs displaying a modified S protein of a QX-like
IB variant were obtained when the native transmembrane (TM) domain and cytoplasmic tail
were substituted with that of the Newcastle disease virus (NDV) fusion glycoprotein, co-infiltrated
with the NDV Matrix protein. In comparison, the native IB modified S co-infiltrated with
IB virus membrane, envelope and nucleocapsid proteins, or substituted with the TM and CT
of an H6-subtype influenza A virus hemagglutinin glycoprotein yielded lower VLP expression
levels. Strong immunogenicity was confirmed in specific pathogen free chickens immunized
intramuscularly with VLPs adjuvanted with Emulsigen®-P, where birds that received
doses of 5 μg or 20 μg (S protein content) seroconverted after two weeks with mean hemaggluttination
inhibition titres of 9.1 and 10 log2, respectively. Plant-produced IB VLP variant
vaccines are safer, more rapid and cost effective to produce than VLPs produced in insect
cell expression systems or the traditional egg-produced inactivated whole virus oil emulsion
vaccines currently in use, with great potential for improved IB disease control in future.The Department of Science and Innovation/National Research Foundation (DSI/NRF); and bursaries from the University of Pretoriahttps://journals.plos.org/plosone/am2024Production Animal StudiesSDG-02:Zero HungerSDG-03:Good heatlh and well-bein
Gender, segmented labor markets, continental welfare states and equal employment policies: The case of Spain
No full textOrganotins as a Complete Physiologic and Endocrine Disruptor: Role of Disease Development
No full textThis eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contac
Sarah Fielding: Satire and Subversion in the Eighteenth-Century Novel
No full textThis study of Sarah Fielding (1710―68) is an original contribution to Fielding scholarship that has a dual purpose: to support those who are striving to re-introduce her to the modern literary landscape in an effort to restore her eighteenth-century literary standing, and to firmly establish Fielding as an early feminist writer. It is argued here that throughout her oeuvre Fielding challenged prevailing traditions that denied women a choice, particularly in education, employment and marriage. These themes are also considered in the political treatises of Mary Astell (1666―1731) and Mary Wollstonecraft (1759―97), who are now widely recognised as feminist writers.
It is further argued that Fielding’s subversion in fiction of the English patriarchal system is underscored by her unorthodox performance in the literary arena. This is fully explored alongside her use of sentimentalism as a literary tool with which she challenges her seemingly inhumane society. Fielding’s interest in ‘the Labyrinths of the Mind’ (in modern terms, human psychology) will also be addressed as will her placement in the history of feminism and her placement in the sentimental novel tradition. Fielding’s performance as a literary critic will be compared with the few female authors who, like her, dared to publish literary criticism during her writing career. Accordingly, extracts from Fielding’s novels and her two critical pamphlets will be thoroughly examined.
An updated biography of Fielding that is also included here will provide evidence for a further claim, that her fiction is autobiographical in part. A comprehensive account of Fielding’s performance as a literary critic forms the final chapter of this work. It is the first full-length examination of her contribution to the genre and includes an appraisal of her recently unearthed critical pamphlet entitled A Comparison Between the Horace of Corneille and The Roman Father of Mr. Whitehead (1750) that is yet to be formerly attributed to her. Ultimately this study of Fielding will go far beyond what has previously been written about this remarkable eighteenth-century author, particularly regarding her feminist activity
The Goodness-of-Fit Ethic for Informed Consent
No full textThis Essay argues that informed consent policies for adults with mental disorders need to reflect a relational approach that re-conceptualizes consent vulnerability in terms of a goodness-of-fit between patient characteristics and the consent context. The author explains the concept of consent vulnerability and how it applies to individuals with mental disorders and may itself impair their ability to make informed decisions. She then examines four psycho-legal standards of informed consent and how to enhance their usefulness and accuracy. Finally, she provides three hypothetical situations and applies the goodness-of-fit model to them to illustrate the function of the concept
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