Story beats in videogames as value-driven choice-based unit operations

We present a framework of story beats, defined as microunits of dramatic action, as a tool for the ludonarrative analysis of videogames. First, we explain the Goal - Action - Reaction - Outcome model of the story beat. Then, we present six types of story beats, Action, Interaction, Inaction, Mental, Emotion, and Sensory, providing videogame examples for each category. In the second half of the paper, we contextualise this framework in the classic game studies theory of videogame narrative and player action: unit operations, gamic action, anatomy of choice, and game design patterns, wrapping it up in the most recent trends in cognitive narratology. Ultimately, we present the story beat as a ludonarrative unit, working simultaneously as a ‘unit operation’ in the study of games as systems, and as a microunit of character action in narrative analysis. The conclusion outlines prospective directions for using story beats in formal, experiential, and cultural game research.We present a framework of story beats, defined as microunits of dramatic action, as a tool for the ludonarrative analysis of videogames. First, we explain the Goal - Action - Reaction - Outcome model of the story beat. Then, we present six types of story beats, Action, Interaction, Inaction, Mental, Emotion, and Sensory, providing videogame examples for each category. In the second half of the paper, we contextualise this framework in the classic game studies theory of videogame narrative and player action: unit operations, gamic action, anatomy of choice, and game design patterns, wrapping it up in the most recent trends in cognitive narratology. Ultimately, we present the story beat as a ludonarrative unit, working simultaneously as a ‘unit operation’ in the study of games as systems, and as a microunit of character action in narrative analysis. The conclusion outlines prospective directions for using story beats in formal, experiential, and cultural game research

Hollins Columns (1984 Oct 29)

Table of Contents: Lady Liberty celebrates 100th birthday ODK announces new members Who\u27s Who for \u2785 Ice or no ice--E.C. asks Seniors question traditions Pamphlets questioned Humor Hollins style Participation Qua Participation You be the judge...Cambria & Russell on the issues Student\u27s faith stolen Apology to campus Tinker Day finally arrives....skits, songs, togetherness What is a tradition? HOPing in November Guest sopranist performs recital Recital to Feature Renowned Pianist Sit Back and Tune In! Bowie displays style in Tonight Looking ahead to fall weekend Liquid Pleasure brings variety The Television Pursuit Orchesis Production Volleyball and Soccer wrapping it up Positive light shines on field hockey season ADA\u27s on campushttps://digitalcommons.hollins.edu/newspapers/2211/thumbnail.jp

Using the Big Ideas in Cosmology to Teach College Students

Recent advances in our understanding of the Universe have revolutionized our view of its structure, composition and evolution. However, these new ideas have not necessarily been used to improve the teaching of introductory astronomy students. In this project, we have conducted research into student understanding of cosmological ideas so as to develop effective web-based tools to teach basic concepts important to modern cosmology. The tools are intended for use at the introductory college level. Our research uses several instruments, including open-ended and multiple choice surveys conducted at multiple institutions, as well as interviews and course artifacts at one institution, to ascertain what students know regarding modern cosmological ideas, what common misunderstandings and misconceptions they entertain, and what sorts of materials can most effectively overcome student difficulties in learning this material. These data are being used to create a suite of interactive, web-based tutorials that address the major ideas in cosmology using real data. Having students engage with real data is a powerful means to help students overcome certain misconceptions. Students master the scientific concepts and reasoning processes that lead to our current understanding of the universe through interactive tasks, prediction and reflection, experimentation, and model building.Comment: 2012 Fermi Symposium proceedings - eConf C12102

Public Research Universities: Serving the Public Good

Public research universities educate about 20 percent of all students nationwide; among the nation's research universities, they award 65 percent of all master's degrees and 68 percent of all research doctorate degrees. They enroll 3.8 million students, including almost 900,000 graduate students, annually.1 Public research universities produce researchers, educators, entrepreneurs, civic leaders, and the basic research breakthroughs that drive innovation, grow our economy, and benefit the daily lives of all Americans.2 Between 2012 and 2013 alone, research at public universities resulted in more than 13,322 patent applications, 522 start-up companies, and 3,094 intellectual property licenses.Public research universities also support the upward social mobility of large numbers of talented and ambitious young people from low socioeconomic status backgrounds, many of whom are the first in their family to pursue postsecondary education. Public research universities provide a high-quality university education at reduced cost and act as pathways to higher-paying jobs than would otherwise be obtainable for most students. The sizable enrollment of undergraduate students from low-income families reflects the mission of public research universities to serve all facets of U.S. society; 31 percent of undergraduate students who attend public research universities receive Pell Grants, and the eight research universities with the highest shares of students who receive Pell Grants are all public.But there is growing concern about the future of these vital institutions. Over the last decade, and especially following the economic collapse of 2008, nearly every state in the nation has dramatically reduced its investment in higher education, with public research universities receiving the most severe cuts. Since 2008, public research universities have suffered a 26 percent drop in state investment.5 Further, declining federal funds for research have added to the strain, despite the slight rebound afforded by the 2016 omnibus spending measure. The current funding model is broken and getting worse, putting at risk a critical component of the nation's postsecondary education system and research infrastructure.The American Academy of Arts & Sciences has created the Lincoln Project: Excellence and Access in Public Higher Education to study the importance of public research universities, analyze economic trends affecting their operation, and recommend new strategies to sustain and strengthen these critical institutions. This publication, the fourth in a series of five Lincoln Project reports, examines the many ways in which public research universities contribute to their communities, states, regions, and the nation, and provides empirical evidence of their service to the public good

Financing and Restructuring Doctoral Education in the Future

[Excerpt] I will argue today that a combination of short- and longer-run economic and political forces pose a threat to the well-being of our nation’s doctoral programs. After briefly touching on the impact of our current economic problems on doctoral education at private universities, I will in turn discuss the growing pressure on academia to expand access to and improve persistence in undergraduate education, the financial problems facing public research universities, the changing nature of faculty positions in academia and the implications of all of these forces for financing and restructuring doctoral education in the future

Topological Phases in Graphitic Cones

The electronic structure of graphitic cones exhibits distinctive topological features associated with the apical disclinations. Aharonov-Bohm magnetoconductance oscillations (period Phi_0) are completely absent in rings fabricated from cones with a single pentagonal disclination. Close to the apex, the local density of states changes qualitatively, either developing a cusp which drops to zero at the Fermi energy, or forming a region of nonzero density across the Fermi energy, a local metalization of graphene.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX 4, 3 PostScript figure

Governance in Organizational Expansion - Learning From Community Development Organizations

Community development organizations are dynamic nonprofits that adopt a range of proven strategies to revitalize neighborhoods so they are great places to live, work and play. These place-based nonprofits are positioned as organizations through which local community residents, partnering with civic and business leaders, can create vibrant and sustainable neighborhoods