Exploring Cyberbullying and Other Toxic Behavior in Team Competition Online Games

In this work we explore cyberbullying and other toxic behavior in team competition online games. Using a dataset of over 10 million player reports on 1.46 million toxic players along with corresponding crowdsourced decisions, we test several hypotheses drawn from theories explaining toxic behavior. Besides providing large-scale, empirical based understanding of toxic behavior, our work can be used as a basis for building systems to detect, prevent, and counter-act toxic behavior.Comment: CHI'1

Cardiac manifestations of PRKAG2 mutation.

BACKGROUND:The Protein Kinase AMP-Activated Non-Catalytic Subunit Gamma 2 (PRKAG2) cardiac syndrome is characterized by glycogen accumulation in the cardiac tissue. The disease presents clinically with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), and it is often associated with conduction abnormalities. CASE PRESENTATION:A 23 year-old female with history of Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) and HCM presented for evaluation after an episode of Non-ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (NSTEMI). The patient was found to have severe coronary bridging on angiography and underwent an unroofing of the left anterior descending artery (LAD). Due to the constellation of symptoms, the patient underwent genetic testing and a cardiac muscle biopsy. Genetic testing was significant for an Arg302Gln mutation in the PRKAG2 gene. Cardiac tissue biopsy revealed significant myocyte hypertrophy and large vacuoles with glycogen stores. CONCLUSION:The pathologic and genetics findings of our patient are consistent with PRKAG2 syndrome. Patients presenting with conduction abnormalities and suspected HCM should be considered for genetic testing to identify possible underlying genetic etiologies

The Principles of Esports Engagement: A Universal Code of Conduct

Section I of this article provides a brief background of esports and the ESA. Section II states the four principles of esports engagement announced by the ESA. Section III applies these four principles by reviewing specific problems that have plagued the video game and esports industries, such as toxicity (especially towards women and other minorities), swatting, cheating, and other malicious behavior. This article concludes by discussing implementation of a universal code of conduct in esports based on the principles of esports engagement

The Bullying Game: Sexism Based Toxic Language Analysis on Online Games Chat Logs by Text Mining

As a unique type of social network, the online gaming industry is a fast-growing, changing, and men-dominated field which attracts diverse backgrounds. Being dominated by male users, game developers, game players, game investors, the non-inclusiveness and gender inequality reside as salient problems in the community. In the online gaming communities, most women players report toxic and offensive language or experiences of verbal abuse. Symbolic interactionists and feminists assume that words matter since the use of particular language and terms can dehumanize and harm particular groups such as women. Identifying and reporting the toxic behavior, sexism, and harassment that occur in online games is a critical need in preventing cyberbullying, and it will help gender diversity and equality grow in the online gaming industry. However, the research on this topic is still rare, except for some milestone studies. This paper aims to contribute to the theory and practice of sexist toxic language detection in the online gaming community, through the automatic detection and analysis of toxic comments in online games chat logs. We adopted the MaXQDA tool as a data visualization technique to reveal the most frequently used toxic words used against women in online gaming communities. We also applied the Naïve Bayes Classifier for text mining to classify if a chat log content is sexist and toxic. We also refined the text mining model Laplace estimator and re-tested the model’s accuracy. The study also revealed that the accuracy of the Naïve Bayes Classifier did not change by the Laplace estimator. The findings of the study are expected to raise awareness about the use of gender-based toxic language in the online gaming community. Moreover, the proposed mining model can inspire similar research on practical tools to help moderate the use of sexist toxic language and disinfect these communities from gender-based discrimination and sexist bullying

The Dark Side of E-sports: The Role of Player Emotions and Cyberbullying in MOBA

Within the context of Multiplayer Online Battle Arena video games (MOBAs), Cyberbullying Behavior (CB) has become a complex and yet unsolved socio-technological challenge. While significant work has been done recently, there is a lack of studies in relation to the role of players’ emotions and CB as well as a lack of theory-guided approaches for curbing CB in MOBAs. In this work, we developed a holistic framework for understanding the relationship between player emotions (achievement, challenge, and loss) and their CB in different phases (early game, mid game, and late game) of MOBAs. For this, we used a qualitative approach comprising 1,048,575 chat logs and interviews with 21 MOBA players. The preliminary results indicate that different emotions arise at different phases of MOBA games that gives rise to cyberbullying behavior in the players

How do esports companies support their community’s wellness?

Background: With the growing professionalisation of esports, there is greater public scrutiny of the health and wellness of their communities, but no research outlining the approaches taken by esports companies to deploy services and support. Aims: This paper aims to understand the prevalence and effectiveness of wellness initiatives within the esports industry, so as to inform best practice, knowledge of critical concerns, and pathways to greater provision for esports professionals. Methods & Results: The research identified a sample of 70 gaming companies (developers/publishers, game titles, streaming platforms, tournament organizers), based on their prominence within the international gaming industry. Subsequently, it undertook a qualitative analysis of their public, digital assets to identify evidence of policies, programmes, and partnerships that aim to support the wellness of the esports community. Conclusion: There is a varied and fragmented approach to wellness monitoring and support across the esports industry. Mostly, the approach is reactionary, with little evidence of cross-platform conversations on minimal or ideal standards or monitoring processes to determine their effectiveness. The paper argues on behalf of an integrated, in-platform solution, which provides comparability and shared ownership with the healthcare sector

USeSPA? Exploring the Idea of a U.S. Esports Regulatory Authority

This article will conclude, ultimately, it is a matter of policy with two convincing sides best left for the public to decide. First, having a monolithic regulator for all esports in the United States is unnecessary to address many of the legal issues esports faces and may actually cause more legal issues. Second, some centralized effort or a centralized association to heighten and universalize standards would be beneficial because it would allow market participants to address the systemic threats to the esports market. As to a centralization, this article will argue the most effective means to accomplish such a task is through a binding and monolithic regulatory body