Exploring Twitter as a game platform; strategies and opportunities for microblogging-based games

Recent years have seen the massive daily engagement of players with games that are integrated with online social networking sites, such as Facebook. However, few games have successfully created engaging experiences through integration with microblogging websites. In this paper, we explore the opportunities and challenges in using Twitter as a platform for playing games, through the case study of the game Hashtag Dungeon, a dungeon-crawling game that uses Twitter for collaborative creation of game content. Two studies were carried out. A quantitative user study with 32 participants demonstrated that players found the game engaging and rewarding. A follow-up qualitative study with 8 participants suggests that Twitter integration in this game is meaningful, but that there are concerns over the impact of the game on players’ Twitter profiles. Based on findings from both studies, we propose strategies for the design of Microblogging-based games, and discuss wider implications of social media integration in games

National Geodetic Satellite Program, Part II: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

A sequence of advances in the determination of geodetic parameters presented by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory are described. A Baker-Nunn photographic system was used in addition to a ruby-laser ranging system to obtain data for refinement of geodetic parameters. A summary of the data employed to: (1) derive coordinates for the locations of various tracking stations; and (2) determine the gravitational potential of the earth, is presented

Centrality Dependence of Charged Particle Multiplicity in Au-Au Collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=130 GeV

We present results for the charged-particle multiplicity distribution at mid-rapidity in Au - Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=130 GeV measured with the PHENIX detector at RHIC. For the 5% most central collisions we find $dN_{ch}/d\eta_{|\eta=0} = 622 \pm 1 (stat) \pm 41 (syst)$. The results, analyzed as a function of centrality, show a steady rise of the particle density per participating nucleon with centrality.Comment: 307 authors, 43 institutions, 6 pages, 4 figures, 1 table Minor changes to figure labels and text to meet PRL requirements. One author added: M. Hibino of Waseda Universit

Mid-Rapidity Direct-Photon Production in p+p Collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV

A measurement of direct photons in p+p collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV is presented. A photon excess above background from pi^0 --> gamma+gamma, eta --> gamma+gamma, and other decays is observed in the transverse momentum range 5.5 < p_T < 7 GeV/c. The result is compared to a next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD calculation. Within errors, good agreement is found between the QCD calculation and the measured result.Comment: 330 authors, 7 pages text, RevTeX, 2 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to Physical Review D. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Suppressed pi^0 Production at Large Transverse Momentum in Central Au+Au Collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV

Transverse momentum spectra of neutral pions in the range 1 < p_T < 10 GeV/c have been measured at mid-rapidity by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. The pi^0 multiplicity in central reactions is significantly below the yields measured at the same sqrt(s_NN) in peripheral Au+Au and p+p reactions scaled by the number of nucleon-nucleon collisions. For the most central bin, the suppression factor is ~2.5 at p_T = 2 GeV/c and increases to ~4-5 at p_T ~= 4 GeV/c. At larger p_T, the suppression remains constant within errors. The deficit is already apparent in semi-peripheral reactions and increases smoothly with centrality.Comment: 326 authors, 6 pages text, RevTeX, 3 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to PRL. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Centrality dependence of charged hadron production in deuteron+gold and nucleon+gold collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV

We present transverse momentum (p_T) spectra of charged hadrons measured in deuteron-gold and nucleon-gold collisions at \sqrts = 200 GeV for four centrality classes. Nucleon-gold collisions were selected by tagging events in which a spectator nucleon was observed in one of two forward rapidity detectors. The spectra and yields were investigated as a function of the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions, \nu, suffered by deuteron nucleons. A comparison of charged particle yields to those in p+p collisions show that the yield per nucleon-nucleon collision saturates with \nu for high momentum particles. We also present the charged hadron to neutral pion ratios as a function of p_T.Comment: 330 authors, 15 pages text, 16 figures, 3 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. v2 has minor changes to reflect revisions during review process. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Centrality dependence of pi^[+/-], K^[+/-], p and p-bar production from sqrt(s_NN)=130 GeV Au + Au collisions at RHIC

Identified pi^[+/-] K^[+/-], p and p-bar transverse momentum spectra at mid-rapidity in sqrt(s_NN)=130 GeV Au-Au collisions were measured by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC as a function of collision centrality. Average transverse momenta increase with the number of participating nucleons in a similar way for all particle species. The multiplicity densities scale faster than the number of participating nucleons. Kaon and nucleon yields per participant increase faster than the pion yields. In central collisions at high transverse momenta (p_T greater than 2 GeV/c), anti-proton and proton yields are comparable to the pion yields.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, 307 authors, accepted by Phys. Rev. Lett. on 9 April 2002. This version has minor changes made in response to referee Comments. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/phenix/WWW/run/phenix/papers.htm

Nuclear Modification Factors for Hadrons At Forward and Backward Rapidities in Deuteron-Gold Collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV

We report on charged hadron production in deuteron-gold reactions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. Our measurements in the deuteron-direction cover 1.4 < eta < 2.2, referred to as forward rapidity, and in the gold-direction -2.0 < eta < -1.4, referred to as backward rapidity, and a transverse momentum range p_T = 0.5-4.0 GeV/c. We compare the relative yields for different deuteron-gold collision centrality classes. We observe a suppression relative to binary collision scaling at forward rapidity, sensitive to low momentum fraction (x) partons in the gold nucleus, and an enhancement at backward rapidity, sensitive to high momentum fraction partons in the gold nucleus.Comment: 330 authors, 6 pages text, 4 figures, REVTeX4. Published in Physical Review Letters. Minor changes over previous version in response to referee and editor comments, plus updating of references. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

High transverse momentum eta meson production in p+p, d+Au and Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV

Inclusive transverse momentum spectra of eta mesons in the range p_T~2-12 GeV/c have been measured at mid-rapidity (|\eta| < 0,35) by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC in p+p, d+Au and Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. The eta mesons are reconstructed through their eta--> \gamma\gamma channel for the three colliding systems as well as through the eta-->pi^0 pi+ pi- decay mode in p+p and d+Au collisions. The nuclear modification factor in d+Au collisions, R_dAu(p_T~1.0-1.1, suggests at most only modest p_T broadening ("Cronin enhancement"). In central Au+Au reactions, the eta yields are significantly suppressed, with R_AuAu(pT)~0.2. The ratio of eta to pi^0 yields is approximately constant as a function of p_T for the three colliding systems in agreement with the high-p_T world average of R_eta/pi^0 \approx 0.5 in hadron-hadron, hadron-nucleus, and nucleus-nucleus collisions for a wide range of center-of-mass energies [sqrt(s_NN)~3-1800 GeV] as well as, for high scaled momentum x_p, in e+e- annihilations at sqrt(s)=91.2 GeV. These results are consistent with a scenario where high-p_T eta production in nuclear collisions at RHIC is largely unaffected by initial-state effects, but where light-quark mesons (pi^0;eta) are equally suppressed due to final-state interactions of the parent partons in the dense medium produced in Au+Au reactions.Comment: 391 authors, NN pages text, RevTeX4, figures, tables. Submitted to Physical Review C. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Direct photon production in d+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV

Direct photons have been measured in sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV d+Au collisions at midrapidity. A wide p_T range is covered by measurements of nearly-real virtual photons (1<p_T<6 GeV/c) and real photons (5<p_T<16 GeV/c). The invariant yield of the direct photons in d+Au collisions over the scaled p+p cross section is consistent with unity. Theoretical calculations assuming standard cold nuclear matter effects describe the data well for the entire p_T range. This indicates that the large enhancement of direct photons observed in Au+Au collisions for 1.0<p_T<2.5 GeV/c is due to a source other than the initial-state nuclear effects.Comment: 547 authors, 7 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett.. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm