Representation of Characters by Gender across Video Game Covers of Different Ratings

This research was in response to the perception that females are under-represented in gaming culture. Pew Research Center (2015) found that both males and females thought more males played video games (60%). However, there is not a statistically significant difference in the percentage of males and females who have ever played video games (50% M 48% F). There is the perception that the advertising and production of video games contribute to the different stereotypes associated with men and women in gaming culture. According to research about gender and video game production, both male and female employees who work in the creation of content believe that women are underrepresented (Prescott & Bogg, 2011). This contributes to the idea of androcentrism, which is the practice of placing a masculine point of view as the center of a culture’s, and this is seen in many areas of gaming. In this project we examined the presence of and representation of males and females on video covers

The variable light environment within complex 3D canopies

With an expanding population and uncertain consequences of climate change, the need to both stabilise and increase crop yields is important. The relationship between biomass production and radiation interception suggests one target for improvement. Under optimal growing conditions, biomass production is determined by the amount of light intercepted and the efficiency with which this is converted into dry matter. The amount of light at a given photosynthetic surface is dependent upon solar movement, weather patterns and the structure of the plant, amongst others. Optimising canopy structure provides a method by which we can improve and optimise both radiation interception and also the distribution of light among canopy layers that contribute to net photosynthesis. This requires knowledge of how canopy structure determines light distribution and therefore photosynthetic capacity of a given crop species. The aim of this thesis was to assess the relationships between canopy architecture, the light environment and photosynthesis. This focused on two core areas: the effect of varietal selection and management practices on canopy structure and the light environment and; the effect of variable light on select photosynthetic processes (photoinhibition and acclimation). An image-based reconstruction method based on stereocameras was employed with a forward ray tracing algorithm in order to model canopy structure and light distributions in high-resolution. Empirical models were then applied using parameterisation from manually measured data to predict the effects of variable light on photosynthesis. The plasticity of plants means that the physical structure of the canopy is dependent upon many different factors. Detailed descriptions of canopy architecture are integral to predicting whole canopy photosynthesis due to the spatial and temporal differences in light profiles between canopies. This inherent complexity of the canopy means that previous methods for calculating light interception are often not suitable. 3-dimensional modelling can provide a quick and easy method to retain this complexity by preserving small variations. This provides a means to more accurately quantify light interception and enable the scaling of cellular level processes up to the whole canopy. Results indicate that a canopy with more upright leaves enables greater light penetration to lower canopy layers, and thus higher photosynthetic productivity. This structural characteristic can also limit radiation-induced damage by preventing exposure to high light, particularly around midday. Whilst these features may lead to higher photosynthetic rates per unit leaf area, per unit ground area, photosynthesis is usually determined by total leaf area of the canopies, and within this study, the erect canopies tended to have lower total leaf areas than the more horizontal canopies. The structural arrangement of plant material often led to low levels of light within the lower canopy layers which were punctuated by infrequent, high light events. However, the slow response of photosynthesis to a change in light levels meant that these sun flecks cannot be used by the plant and thus the optimal strategy should be geared towards light harvesting and efficient photosynthesis under low light conditions. The results of this study contribute to our understanding of photosynthetic processes within the whole canopy and provide a foundation for future work in this area

Development and Validation of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale–Brief

Twenty-five years ago, one of the first empirically validated measures of perfectionism, the Frost et al. Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (F-MPS) was published. Since that time, psychometric studies of the original F-MPS have provided a plethora of evidence to support the potential development of a shorter yet still psychometrically robust version of the measure. Using confirmatory factor analyses across community and clinical samples, the current study identifies an eight-item F-MPS-Brief with two dimensions (i.e., striving and evaluative concerns) that evidences good internal consistency, measurement equivalence across ethnicities, and concurrent and convergent validity. This new, short version of the F-MPS captures well the bidimensional model of perfectionism that has emerged across studies over the past two decades and is suggested for use when a short yet high-performing assessment tool for this model is desired

Sunfleck properties from time series of fluctuating light

Light in canopies is highly dynamic since the strength and composition of incoming radiation is determined by the wind and the Sun's trajectory and by canopy structure. For this highly dynamic environment, we mathematically defined sunflecks as periods of high irradiance relative to the background light environment. They can account for a large proportion of the light available for photosynthesis. Based on high-frequency irradiance measurements with a CCD array spectroradiometer, we investigated how the frequency of measurement affects what we define as sunflecks. Do different plant canopies produce sunflecks with different properties? How does the spectral composition and strength of irradiance in the shade vary during a sunfleck? Our results suggest that high-frequency measurements improved our description of light fluctuations and led to the detection of shorter, more frequent and intense sunflecks. We found that shorter wind-induced sunflecks contribute most of the irradiance attributable to sunflecks, contrary to previous reports from both forests and crops. Large variations in sunfleck properties related to canopy depth and species, including distinct spectral composition under shade and sunflecks, suggest that mapping canopy structural traits may help us model photosynthesis dynamically.Peer reviewe

The variable light environment within complex 3D canopies

With an expanding population and uncertain consequences of climate change, the need to both stabilise and increase crop yields is important. The relationship between biomass production and radiation interception suggests one target for improvement. Under optimal growing conditions, biomass production is determined by the amount of light intercepted and the efficiency with which this is converted into dry matter. The amount of light at a given photosynthetic surface is dependent upon solar movement, weather patterns and the structure of the plant, amongst others. Optimising canopy structure provides a method by which we can improve and optimise both radiation interception and also the distribution of light among canopy layers that contribute to net photosynthesis. This requires knowledge of how canopy structure determines light distribution and therefore photosynthetic capacity of a given crop species. The aim of this thesis was to assess the relationships between canopy architecture, the light environment and photosynthesis. This focused on two core areas: the effect of varietal selection and management practices on canopy structure and the light environment and; the effect of variable light on select photosynthetic processes (photoinhibition and acclimation). An image-based reconstruction method based on stereocameras was employed with a forward ray tracing algorithm in order to model canopy structure and light distributions in high-resolution. Empirical models were then applied using parameterisation from manually measured data to predict the effects of variable light on photosynthesis. The plasticity of plants means that the physical structure of the canopy is dependent upon many different factors. Detailed descriptions of canopy architecture are integral to predicting whole canopy photosynthesis due to the spatial and temporal differences in light profiles between canopies. This inherent complexity of the canopy means that previous methods for calculating light interception are often not suitable. 3-dimensional modelling can provide a quick and easy method to retain this complexity by preserving small variations. This provides a means to more accurately quantify light interception and enable the scaling of cellular level processes up to the whole canopy. Results indicate that a canopy with more upright leaves enables greater light penetration to lower canopy layers, and thus higher photosynthetic productivity. This structural characteristic can also limit radiation-induced damage by preventing exposure to high light, particularly around midday. Whilst these features may lead to higher photosynthetic rates per unit leaf area, per unit ground area, photosynthesis is usually determined by total leaf area of the canopies, and within this study, the erect canopies tended to have lower total leaf areas than the more horizontal canopies. The structural arrangement of plant material often led to low levels of light within the lower canopy layers which were punctuated by infrequent, high light events. However, the slow response of photosynthesis to a change in light levels meant that these sun flecks cannot be used by the plant and thus the optimal strategy should be geared towards light harvesting and efficient photosynthesis under low light conditions. The results of this study contribute to our understanding of photosynthetic processes within the whole canopy and provide a foundation for future work in this area

Exploring relationships between canopy architecture, light distribution and photosynthesis in contrasting rice genotypes using 3D canopy reconstruction

The arrangement of leaf material is critical in determining the light environment, and subsequently the photosynthetic productivity of complex crop canopies. However, links between specific canopy architectural traits and photosynthetic productivity across a wide genetic background are poorly understood for field grown crops. The architecture of five genetically diverse rice varieties - four parental founders of a multi-parent advanced generation intercross (MAGIC) population plus a high yielding Philippine variety (IR64) - was captured at two different growth stages using a method for digital plant reconstruction based on stereocameras. Ray tracing was employed to explore the effects of canopy architecture on the resulting light environment in high-resolution, whilst gas exchange measurements were combined with an empirical model of photosynthesis to calculate an estimated carbon gain and total light interception. To further test the impact of different dynamic light patterns on photosynthetic properties, an empirical model of photosynthetic acclimation was employed to predict the optimal light-saturated photosynthesis rate (Pmax) throughout canopy depth, hypothesising that light is the sole determinant of productivity in these conditions. First we show that a plant type with steeper leaf angles allows more efficient penetration of light into lower canopy layers and this, in turn, leads to a greater photosynthetic potential. Second the predicted optimal Pmax responds in a manner that is consistent with fractional interception and leaf area index across this germplasm. However measured Pmax, especially in lower layers, was consistently higher than the optimal Pmax indicating factors other than light determine photosynthesis profiles. Lastly, varieties with more upright architecture exhibit higher maximum quantum yield of photosynthesis indicating a canopy-level impact on photosynthetic efficiency