The Role of Auditory Features Within Slot-Themed Social Casino Games and Online Slot Machine Games

Over the last few years playing social casino games has become a popular entertainment activity. Social casino games are offered via social media platforms and mobile apps and resemble gambling activities. However, social casino games are not classified as gambling as they can be played for free, outcomes may not be determined by chance, and players receive no monetary payouts. Social casino games appear to be somewhat similar to online gambling activities in terms of their visual and auditory features, but to date little research has investigated the cross over between these games. This study examines the auditory features of slot-themed social casino games and online slot machine games using a case study design. An example of each game type was played on three separate occasions during which, the auditory features (i.e., music, speech, sound effects, and the absence of sound) within the games were logged. The online slot-themed game was played in demo mode. This is the first study to provide a qualitative account of the role of auditory features within a slot-themed social casino game and an online slot machine game. Our results found many similarities between how sound is utilised within the two games. Therefore the sounds within these games may serve functions including: setting the scene for gaming, creating an image, demarcating space, interacting with visual features, prompting players to act, communicating achievements to players, providing reinforcement, heightening player emotions and the gaming experience. As a result this may reduce the ability of players to make a clear distinction between these two activities, which may facilitate migration between game

Bolstering system-justifying beliefs in response to social exclusion

Integrating research on social exclusion with the broader literature on system justification and flexible responses to threats, we propose a novel coping strategy that individuals may use in the face of social exclusion. In particular, we suggest that because exclusion often feels unexpected, it will lead individuals to bolster the system-justifying worldview that people get what they deserve, as excluded individuals attempt to cognitively cope with the threatened order and predictability of their world. Supporting our prediction, in Study 1, social exclusion (vs. inclusion) led participants to increasingly endorse descriptive meritocratic beliefs suggesting that hard work leads to success in society. This effect was mediated by the perceived unexpectedness of the interaction outcome, providing key evidence for our hypothesized process. Study 2 used individual differences in rejection sensitivity to provide further support for our unexpectedness account, demonstrating that exclusion heightens meritocratic beliefs only insofar as participants tend to find exclusions unexpected. The results expand our understanding of the cognitive mechanisms by which people cope with social exclusion and highlight the malleability of system-justifying ideologies in response to interpersonal factors. © 2013, SAGE Publications. All rights reserved

Witnessing and re-enacting in Cambodia: reflection on shifting testimonies

Thirty years after the collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979) how do Cambodians cope with the traumatic legacy of Pol Pot's reign of terror? What forms does witnessing take on in post-socialist and transitional Cambodia as senior Khmer Rouge leaders await prosecution at the Cambodian Tribunal? The paper examines aspects of witnessing in today's Cambodia, expressing each in its own way the idea of the 'shifting' of witnessing: the transformation of testimonies due to time passing and contrasted systems of justice through a comparison of testimonies in the trial of the 'Pol Pot/Ieng Sary clique' (1979) and the current Cambodian Tribunal; the complex forms of witnessing emerging from participatory projects developed with Western authors in 'We want (u) to know' (documentary movie made by an international film crew with the inhabitants of the village of Thnol Lok in 2009) and 'Breaking the silence' (theatre play realised by the Dutch dramaturge Annemarie Prins that premiered in Phnom Penh in 2009 and toured Cambodia in the following years); the relationship between documentary and legal forms of witnessing through the example of Vann Nath, a survivor of S-21/Tuol Sleng, the prison where the Khmer Rouge tortured and killed thousands of their fellow countrymen. The paper analyses the difficulty Western organisers of participatory projects experienced in applying the hybrid model of transitional justice to sociocultural contexts of witnessing. Nevertheless it points out their contribution to processes of 'recognition beyond recognition' in which cultural differences in coming to terms with historical trauma are expressed and recorded

The Real Exchange Rate Volatility and U.S. Exports: An Empirical Investigation

This paper investigates effects of exchange rate volatility on U.S. exports, using disaggregated sectoral data on U.S. exports to its major trading partners. In this paper, we use a generalized ARCH-type model (GARCH) to generate a measure of exchange rate volatility which is then tested in a model of U.S. exports. The analysis uses monthly trade data for the period from January 1990 through December 2007. Testing sectoral trade data allows us to detect whether the direction or magnitude of the impact of volatility differs depending on the types of goods that are traded. The results obtained in this paper suggest that the increase in the volatility of exchange rate exert a negative effect upon export demand in majority of the products: the study finds evidence for significant negative effects in six of ten export products, and significant positive effects in four products