11,699 research outputs found

    Video Game Development in a Rush: A Survey of the Global Game Jam Participants

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    Video game development is a complex endeavor, often involving complex software, large organizations, and aggressive release deadlines. Several studies have reported that periods of "crunch time" are prevalent in the video game industry, but there are few studies on the effects of time pressure. We conducted a survey with participants of the Global Game Jam (GGJ), a 48-hour hackathon. Based on 198 responses, the results suggest that: (1) iterative brainstorming is the most popular method for conceptualizing initial requirements; (2) continuous integration, minimum viable product, scope management, version control, and stand-up meetings are frequently applied development practices; (3) regular communication, internal playtesting, and dynamic and proactive planning are the most common quality assurance activities; and (4) familiarity with agile development has a weak correlation with perception of success in GGJ. We conclude that GGJ teams rely on ad hoc approaches to development and face-to-face communication, and recommend some complementary practices with limited overhead. Furthermore, as our findings are similar to recommendations for software startups, we posit that game jams and the startup scene share contextual similarities. Finally, we discuss the drawbacks of systemic "crunch time" and argue that game jam organizers are in a good position to problematize the phenomenon.Comment: Accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Game

    R behind the scenes: Using S the (un)usual way

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    R is not only a program for analyzing and visualizing data, it is an open and programmable software environment. It can not only easily access other programs written in a wide variety of languages, but also be accessed itself from other programs. As such, it can be seen as the computational Swiss army knife of statistics. Connecting a program to R can be surprisingly simple, and once the connection is established, the perhaps largest existing collection of statistical methodology is available through a unified interface. Embedding R can save a lot of human time by automating routine tasks, but more importantly, it often gives a simple way of making our methods accessible to a much wider audience

    IBM: Building a Smarter Planet (Interview with Sandy Dochan and Jeff Tieszen)

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    A candid discussion is presented with two IBM corporate managers regarding IBM‘s history and current involvement in sustainable global development. This frank interview travels from the roots of the organization through the changing leadership of today, explores dilemmas experienced and lessons learned, and identifies the challenges and successes of one of the largest multi-national corporate entities in the world marketplace

    HR Information Systems: Exploiting the Full Potential

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    [Excerpt] Human resource management has always faced a fundamental paradox: Top managers in any company will readily agree that the people are the keys to success, but few believe they know whether their people are well managed or if they are prepared to fortify and enhance the transformations facing the organization. The information tools applied to the employees of an organization pale by comparison with the tools used to analyze markets, financial resources and production design

    FORM Matters: Fast Symbolic Computation under UNIX

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    We give a brief introduction to FORM, a symbolic programming language for massive batch operations, designed by J.A.M. Vermaseren. In particular, we stress various methods to efficiently use FORM under the UNIX operating system. Several scripts and examples are given, and suggestions on how to use the vim editor as development platform.Comment: 10 pages, PDF document (PDFLaTeX source available upon request) with 2 JPG figures; submitted to Computers & Mathematics with Application

    Probable or Improbable Universe? Correlating Electroweak Vacuum Instability with the Scale of Inflation

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    Measurements of the Higgs boson and top quark masses indicate that the Standard Model Higgs potential becomes unstable around ΛI∼1011\Lambda_I \sim 10^{11} GeV. This instability is cosmologically relevant since quantum fluctuations during inflation can easily destabilize the electroweak vacuum if the Hubble parameter during inflation is larger than ΛI\Lambda_I (as preferred by the recent BICEP2 measurement). We perform a careful study of the evolution of the Higgs field during inflation, obtaining different results from those currently in the literature. We consider both tunneling via a Coleman-de Luccia or Hawking-Moss instanton, valid when the scale of inflation is below the instability scale, as well as a statistical treatment via the Fokker-Planck equation appropriate in the opposite regime. We show that a better understanding of the post-inflation evolution of the unstable AdS vacuum regions is crucial for determining the eventual fate of the universe. If these AdS regions devour all of space, a universe like ours is indeed extremely unlikely without new physics to stabilize the Higgs potential; however, if these regions crunch, our universe survives, but inflation must last a few e-folds longer to compensate for the lost AdS regions. Lastly, we examine the effects of generic Planck-suppressed corrections to the Higgs potential, which can be sufficient to stabilize the electroweak vacuum during inflation.Comment: 26 pages, 7 figures. Clarifications added. Matches published version in JHE
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