Towards a computational reading of emergence in experimental game design

In any prolonged creative act, there may be moments when an interesting and/or surprising aspect of the artefact being created, or a related idea, emerges without prior knowledge of the creator. Such emergent properties can be capitalised on to drive the creative process. With the Gamika iOS app, we have made it possible to create novel casual game levels in minutes and hours rather than the usual days and weeks. This has enabled us to undertake and analyse game design sessions with a think aloud methodology, focusing on moments of emergence and how they influenced the level design. This has in turn led us to an initial computational reading of emergence in game design, where we imagine how an automated game designer could recognise and take advantage of unexpected changes in aspects such as aesthetics, gameplay and playing strategies which arise during the creative process

Climate change and trade policy : from mutual destruction to mutual support

Contrary to what is still often believed, the climate and trade communities have a lot in common: a common problem (a global"public good"), common foes (vested interests using protection for slowing down climate change policies), and common friends (firms delivering goods, services, and equipment that are both cleaner and cheaper). They have thus many reasons to buttress each other. The climate community would enormously benefit from adopting the principle of"national treatment,"which would legitimize and discipline the use of carbon border tax adjustment and the principle of"most-favored nation,"which would ban carbon tariffs. The main effect of this would be to fuel a dual world economy of clean countries trading between themselves and dirty countries trading between themselves at a great cost for climate change. And the trade community would enormously benefit from a climate community capable of designing instruments that would support the adjustment efforts to be made by carbon-intensive firms much better than instruments such as antidumping or safeguards, which have proved to be ineffective and perverse. That said, implementing these principles will be difficult. The paper focuses on two key problems. First, the way carbon border taxes are defined has a huge impact on the joint outcome from climate change, trade, and development perspectives. Second, the multilateral climate change regime could easily become too complex to be manageable. Focusing on carbon-intensive sectors and building"clusters"of production processes considered as having"like carbon-intensity"are the two main ways for keeping the regime manageable.Developing them in a multilateral framework would make them more transparent and unbiased.Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Climate Change Economics,Emerging Markets,Carbon Policy and Trading,Debt Markets

Special issue on pests and pathogens in Apiculture: Navigating Old Challenges and Unveiling New Threats

In the realm of apiculture, the delicate balance between colonies, bees and the challenges posed by pests and pathogens has been a longstanding concern for researchers and beekeepers alike. The decision to dedicate a special edition to pests and pathogens in apiculture arose from the fact that a myriad of pests and pathogens are some of the main threats to bees across the world. Moreover, the increase in submissions during the recent period indicates a heightened research interest and an urgent imperative to confront the challenges associated with pests and pathogens in apiculture.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Emotional Reflexivity in Contemporary Friendships: Understanding It Using Elias and Facebook Etiquette

The popular social networking site Facebook has become a part of millions of people\'s everyday lives. In order to help people navigate the friendships they form and maintain on Facebook there are many websites offering advice about etiquette. This advice, and responses to it, can help reveal how contemporary emotional expression is organised, especially as it relates to friendship. This paper critically adapts the approach of other sociologists such as Norbert Elias, and Cas Wouters who have used etiquette and advice books to explore social changes in emotionality. Using online advice about Facebook etiquette, it is argued that there is uncertainty about the degree of emotional closeness appropriate for friendships in contemporary life, especially where there are status differences. It is difficult to know how to feel and how to behave within the relational complexity of contemporary life. In particular, expanded definitions of friendship form part of this complexity which promotes and requires an \'emotionalization of reflexivity\'.Emotion, Friendship, Elias, Manners, Facebook, Reflexivity

Fecal microbiota transplants: Emerging social representations in the English-language print media

open access articleThis study investigates how English-language news sources have represented fecal microbiota transplants (FMT). FMT involves transferring stool from a healthy donor to a recipient with a dysfunctional intestinal flora in order to repopulate their gut microbiome. FMT applications are increasingly moving into mainstream clinical care. We investigate press coverage of stool transplants, as well as broader themes associated with health and the gut microbiome, in order to uncover emerging social representations. Our findings show that print media focused in particular on creating novel, mainly hopeful, social representations of feces through wordplay and punning, side-lining issues of risk and fear. We also identify changing metaphorical framings of microbes and bacteria from ‘enemies’ to ‘friends’, and ways in which readers are familiarized with FMT through the depiction of the process as both mundane and highly medicalized

Friends or foes? A theoretical approach towards constructivism, realism and students’ wellbeing via academic literacy practices

The following theoretical analysis aimed to highlight perceived, conceptual differences between constructivist and realist ontologies as meta-theories for understanding students’ well-being in institutions of higher learning; specifically, in relation to how first-year students attempt to master academic literacy practices. This theoretical investigation aimed to determine if the two ontologies are theoretically compatible in research endeavours which are geared towards understanding the wellness of first-year students as they attempt to demonstrate mastery of academic literacy practices. The central method applied in this conceptual probe was an interpretive and textual focus on key, local and international perspectives towards student well-being in higher education. In addition, the study aimed to conceptually expound constructivist and realist schools of thought as modal frameworks for understanding student learning experiences, including their well-being as novice members of our academies. The outcome of the investigation revealed that while the two ontologies presented theoretical and conceptual divergences towards approaching first-year, students’ well-being as they attempt to master academic literacy practices; mainly, a view of being or reality as mind-emergent or mind-independent, both constructivism and realism are applicable ontologies for comprehending this very phenomenon. This analytical probing concluded by asserting that while constructivism and realism are distinct meta-theories towards understanding the lived experiences and well-being of first-year students engaging in academic literacy practices, they need not be perceived as theoretical foes. Both ontologies are applicable, conceptual frameworks for illustrating how, at individual and interactive levels with significant others, the well-being of students may be approached as they attempt to demonstrate competence in conventions associated with academic literacy.

Narrowing The Charter Enrollment Gap: Denver's Common-Enrollment System

As charter schools continue their rapid expansion in America's cities, questions related to equitable access to these schools of choice have jumped to the forefront of the policy conversation. Indeed, the proportion of students in charters with classifications that suggest that they are difficult to educate -- such as students with disabilities, those who are not proficient in English, and those who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch -- is often substantially below their respective proportions in traditional ("district") public schools. This paper uses longitudinal data from Denver to measure whether adoption of common enrollment increased the proportion of disadvantaged students enrolled in that city's charter elementary schools. It finds that Denver's adoption of common enrollment substantially increased the proportion of students enrolling in charter kindergartens who are minority, eligible for free/reduced-priced lunch, or speak English as a second language. Importantly, this paper considers only one specific effect of common enrollment on the charter-school sector. While policymakers should take a more expansive measure of the merits of common enrollment before adopting it, this paper suggests that an effective way to boost disadvantaged students' enrollment in charters is to make applying to them easier

The (im)possibilities of dialogue across feminism and childhood scholarship and activism

The relations between those positioned as women and as children, and the political and intellectual consequences of how we conceptualise these connections, has received only scant attention. In this article we describe a symposium and on-going project which aim to bring together community-based and academic scholars to debate the intersections and perceived antagonisms between various forms of feminism and the politics of childhood. We trace how these intersections have been debated in the literature and outline the potential benefits and pitfalls of encouraging further connections between these fields. Drawing on our symposium experience, we also outline the challenges involved in bringing together academic and community-based scholars and activists, and consider the implications for similar future endeavours

Time, temporality, and woman–child relations

This is the second in a series of Viewpoints about a symposium on the intersections and antagonisms between various forms of feminism and the politics of childhood. This article traces the various ways in which time and temporality were mobilised in symposium papers and discussions and considers the implications for efforts to conceptualise woman–child relations. In conclusion, the potentials and risks of focusing on temporality when theorising relations between those positioned as women and those positioned as children are considered