Computer agents versus avatars: Responses to interactive game characters controlled by a computer or other player

Computer and videogames often require that users interact with other characters on the screen that represent other real people or characters that are controlled by computer code running within the game. The difference between game play with other avatars (player-controlled characters) or agents (characters controlled by the computer) may influence the engagement a game player experiences. This study investigated the effects of agency (avatar versus agent) and the type of gaming activity (competition versus cooperation) on physiological arousal and subjective evaluation of play. A 2 (avatar, agent)×2 (competition, cooperation) within-subject experiment was conducted (N=32). Players exhibited greater physiological arousal to otherwise identical interactions when other characters were introduced as an avatar rather than an agent. Furthermore, the co-player's source of agency interacted with the type of gaming activity. The results have implications for understanding how different forms of representation in virtual worlds and games will affect psychological responses in the contexts of entertainment, learning and the conduct of serious work.     

Designing IS service strategy: an information acceleration approach

Information technology-based innovation involves considerable risk requiring foresight; yet our understanding of the way in which managers develop the insight to support new breakthrough applications is limited and remains obscured by high levels of technical and market uncertainty. This paper applies discrete choice analysis to support improved empirical explanation of how and why decisions are made in information systems (IS). A new experimental method based on information acceleration (IA) is also applied to improve prediction of future IS service strategies. Both explanation and prediction are important to IS research and these two behaviourally sound methods complement each other. Specifically, the combination of IA and discrete choice analysis removes misspecification artefacts from response variability and generates more accurate parameter estimates that better explain IS decision making.     

SoftMC 2003: Workshop on Software Model Checking

This volume contains the Proceedings of the 2^nd Workshop on Software Model Checking, which was held on 14 July 2003 in Boulder, Colorado. The Workshop was a satellite event of the Conference on Computer Aided Verification (CAV) 2003.The first Workshop on Software Model Checking (SoftMC) was held in 2001. Since that time, the field has grown tremendously and we've made a lot of progress in pushing the state-of-the-art. We are now entering a stage where the strengths and limitations of the current approaches are perhaps better understood. With this in mind we invited Dawson Engler to open the workshop with a presentation on using both static analysis and model checking for finding errors in programs. A companion paper to this presentation is included in the proceedings.But, what does the future hold? Can we analyze real programs? Will software model checking ever be push-button? Do we (only) care about finding errors? Can we leverage SAT technology like hardware model checking does? Hopefully we answered some of these questions and more at the 2003 Workshop on Software Model Checking. Our intention for this second workshop was to help provide a springboard for the next phase of development in software model checking.The call for papers resulted in 18 submissions, of which 8 were selected for presentation. The selection process consisted of each paper receiving 3 reviews, followed by a virtual Program Committee meeting. This year the selection process was particularly hard, due to the high level of the submissions, and we are very grateful to the PC and the additional reviewers for their efforts in this regard.Program Committee

Byron Cook (Microsoft)

David Dill (Stanford University)

Patrice Godefroid (Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies)

Susanne Graf (Verimag)

Gerard Holzmann (NASA/JPL Laboratory for Reliable Software)

Radu Mateescu (INRIA Rhône-Alpes/VASY)

Scott Stoller (State University of New York at Stony Brook)

Willem Visser (RIACS/NASA Ames Research Center)

Additional Reviewers: Aurore Collomb, Shuvendu Lahiri, Frederic Lang, Jacob Lichtenberg, Kedar Namjoshi and Wendelin SerweWe would also like to thank Microsoft Research for generously providing financial support and the CAV 2003 organizers for their help in organizing the workshop.     

Effect of surface treatment of pitch-based carbon fiber on mechanical properties of polyethernitrile composites

The effect of surface treatment of pitch-based carbon fiber on a new engineering thermoplastic resin, polyethernitrile, was investigated. Pitch-based carbon fiber (CF) was treated in two separate oxidizing solutions. In the first method, a nitric acid solution was used as an oxidizing agent. In the second method, a hydrogen peroxide solution was used. Both methods demonstrated that each of these solutions was a satisfactory oxidizing agent for the pitch-based CF. These treated fibers were combined with polyethernitrile polymer by the powder impregnation method, and unidirectional laminates were obtained. Improvements in both interlaminar shear strength and transverse flexural strength were achieved. The laminates fabricated from the treated CF maintained the same longitudinal flexural strength as laminates from the untreated control. In addition, scanning electron micrographs of composite fracture surfaces also showed excellent bonding of the treated fiber.     

A modeling approach to thermoplastic pultrusion. II: Verification of models

A set of mathematical models as a thermoplastic pultrusion process is evaluated. The predictions of the models are compared to experimentally obtained data in terms of composite temperature and pressure and process pulling force. The comparisons between predictions and experiments are made for two different material systems, two different die configurations, and a range of processing temperatures and speeds. The correlations between predictions and data are found to be favorable, indicating the soundness of the models.     

Color research in architectural education—A cross-cultural explorative study

This study investigates the knowledge of architectural students about perceptual and psycho-physiological aspects of color, color nomenclature, existing myths and beliefs, and how color is used in their everyday work in the studios. Data were collected mainly by means of questionnaires, to first- and final-year students in five schools of architecture: three in Sweden and two in the United Kingdom. The results were analyzed for each country and educational level, and comparisons made between them. The findings show there is a severe lack of knowledge about color research in both countries. Reading color literature and attending lectures or conferences was rare. However, most participants reported positive attitudes toward color research, especially studies of color perception and color preferences. Knowledge of the Natural Color System (NCS) and British Standard (BSI) was poor, and only a handful of the respondents knew the theoretical basis of the systems. Most of the students complained about the lack of coverage of the subject area in lectures, seminars, or studio work, with very little theory and only few practical exercises. Because students perceive color design as their own future responsibility and basic design education seems to be the main source of color information, the problem of this deficient knowledge should be seriously addressed by researchers and educators. The results suggest ways of improvement and list the most appropriate and preferred methods of communicating research on color. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Col Res Appl, 23, 328–334, 1998     

Measuring the effects of heat treatment on SiC/SiC ceramic matrix composites using Raman spectroscopy

The evolution of residual stresses found within a silicon carbide/silicon carbide (SiC/SiC) ceramic matrix composite through thermal treatments was investigated using Raman microspectroscopy. Constituent stress states were measured before, during, and after exposures ranging from 900 to 1300°C for varying times between 1 and 60 minutes. Silicon carbide particles in the as-received condition exhibited average hydrostatic tensile stresses of approximately 300 MPa when measured at room temperature before and after heat treatment. The room temperature Raman profile of the silicon matrix was altered in both shape and location with heat treatment cycles due to increasing activation of boron within the silicon lattice as heat treatment temperatures increased. By accounting for boron activation in the silicon–boron system, little to no permanent change of any constituent stresses were observed, and the silicon matrix subsequently exhibited a complimentary average hydrostatic compressive stress of approximately 300 MPa at room temperature, measured before and after heat treatment. This result builds upon previous literature and offers increased insight into boron activation phenomena measured through Raman spectroscopy methods.     

Review of Learning disabled children growing up: A follow-up into adulthood.

Reviews the book, Learning disabled children growing up: A follow-up into adulthood by Otfried Spreen (see record 1988-97611-000). Otfried Spreen is well known in the field of human neuropsychology for the thoroughness and perspicacity of his research work. He is also regarded as one of the better writers in the discipline. The work under consideration, Learning Disabled Children Growing Up, is another fine example of both of these talents. In addition to being thorough, insightful, and well written, it is concise and to the point-an attribute all too infrequently encountered in many dissertations on psychological inquiry. What is most important about this work is the unique data that are reported, the circumspect manner in which they are interpreted, and the implications that the general and specific findings have for individual intervention with the learning disabled child and adult as well as social planning for those so afflicted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and Alzheimer's disease subtypes: An alternate hypothesis to global cognitive enhancement.

Cholinergic neurons are extensively implicated in cognitive functioning. Cholinergic deficiency is a widely accepted hypothesis of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is the impetus for the development of cholinesterase inhibitors (ChIs). Studies on the efficacy of ChIs emphasize global cognitive improvement and the amelioration of neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with AD. The authors propose that the current perception of ChIs as global cognitive enhancers may be misleading. It is hypothesized that these drugs improve cognition in specific AD subtypes primarily through psychotropic properties that facilitate attentional processing. In effect, increased attentional capacity through diminished neuropsychiatric symptoms serves to augment results on global cognitive measures: in particular, AD subtypes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Utilisation of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae for the generation and isolation of non-lethal ricin A chain variants

Knowledge of the uptake, membrane translocation, refolding and ribosome interaction of the ribosome-inactivating toxin ricin is incomplete at the present time. Ricin A chain (RTA) is the catalytic subunit of holotoxin and is also of particular interest as a vaccine candidate. For many studies into the uptake and immunological applications of ricin, it is essential to have inactive variants. Here, following error-prone polymerase chain reaction of the RTA open reading frame, we have used a modified gap-repair protocol in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to show that it is possible to rapidly generate a panel of inactive RTA mutants. Since yeast cells have ribosomes that are highly sensitive to RTA, we utilized a genetic selection based on the viability of transformants. This enabled the recovery of a number of mutations, some not previously identified, which permitted production of full-length but non-toxic RTA proteins. Such disarmed toxins may have utility as tools to study the cytosolic entry and action of RTA, and as potential vaccine candidates.