The game jam movement:disruption, performance and artwork

This paper explores the current conventions and intentions of the game jam - contemporary events that encourage the rapid, collaborative creation of game design prototypes. Game jams are often renowned for their capacity to encourage creativity and the development of alternative, innovative game designs. However, there is a growing necessity for game jams to continue to challenge traditional development practices through evolving new formats and perspectives to maintain the game jam as a disruptive, refreshing aspect of game development culture. As in other creative jam style events, a game jam is not only a process but also, an outcome. Through a discussion of the literature this paper establishes a theoretical basis with which to analyse game jams as disruptive, performative processes that result in original creative artefacts. In support of this, case study analysis of Development Cultures: a series of workshops that centred on innovation and new forms of practice through play, chance, and experimentation, is presented. The findings indicate that game jams can be considered as processes that inspire creativity within a community and that the resulting performances can be considered as a form of creative artefact, thus parallels can be drawn between game jams and performative and interactive art

Modelling the impact of micro generation on the electrical distribution system

In the UK and elsewhere there is considerable debate as to the future form of the electricity distribution system. The coming years will see a rise in the amount of micro-generation connected to the network at low voltages and the emergence of highly-distributed power systems (HDPS). However, there is considerable uncertainty as to the impact that this micro-generation will have on the quality of power supplied to our homes or to the stability of the electricity system as a whole. To address these engineering challenges the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is funding a three year research programme featuring a multi-disciplinary team from a variety of UK Universities: Supergen HDPS. This paper documents one piece of work emerging from the consortium, where a multi-tool approach is used to analyse the impact of micro-generation on the electricity system. This used a building simulation tool to produce electrical generation profiles for domestic cogeneration device models. These, along with profiles produced for other micro-generation technology models and electrical load profiles are then replicated and aggregated using a customised statistical approach. The profiles were then used as boundary conditions for a set of electrical load flow simulations on a model of a section of real network, where the number of microgenerators was varied according to different scenarios for the future of the UK electricity grid. The results indicate that a significant number of micro-generation devices can be accommodated before any power quality problems arise, however this is dependent upon maintaining a robust central grid

Defect tolerance of friction stir welds in DH36 steel

Friction stir welding of steel is in the early stages of development. The aim to commercialise this process creates a trade-off between welding time, cost and quality of the joint produced. Therefore, it becomes critical to analyse the lower quality bound of steel friction stir welds in conventional square edge butt welding configuration. Work has been undertaken to evaluate the microstructure and fatigue performance of 6 mm thick DH36 steel plates friction stir welded with sub-optimal process conditions, resulting in the development of embedded and surface breaking flaws. The defective weldments were characterised to understand the nature of the flaws and a programme of mechanical testing was undertaken (including fatigue assessment) to determine the relationship between the flaw geometry, location and weld quality. A number of characteristic flaws were identified and seen to interact with the samples’ fatigue fracture mechanisms. Samples with wormholes at the weld root produced the lowest fatigue performance. Fracture from incomplete fusion paths at the retreating side of the welds’ top surface was seen to correspond to the highest recorded fatigue lives. The work provides an insight into the complex nature of characteristic flaws in steel friction stir welds and their interaction with fatigue behaviour

The Institutional Ramifications of American Interventionism: Examining the Short and Long-Term Effects of Foreign Political Interventions on Democratic Institutions

This paper investigates the short and long-term effects of United States political interventions in foreign governments on the democratic and institutional strength of those countries. Following the method proposed in Berger et al’s 2010 paper, I expand intervention data from the Cold War to include the years 1990 to 2016. I use panel data as well as time and country fixed-effects to analyze this relationship through a series of OLS regressions. My findings indicate that American interventions abroad had significant and negative effects on institutional quality when measured throughout the extended period. However, measuring for lagged effects of these interventions suggests that after 30 years this trend reverses, and countries which experienced interventions seem to reclaim some of their institutional quality. 40 years following an intervention, analysis suggests institutional quality rises to a point comparatively higher in countries which experienced interventions than in those that did not

Open data to accelerate the electric mobility revolution : deploying journey electric vehicle chargers in rural Scotland

Governments across the world are exploring options to transition their population away from internal combustion vehicles toward alternative low- and zero-carbon technologies. For small “light-duty” personal and commercial vehicles, the transition toward battery-powered electric vehicles (EVs) appears to be the candidate solution. In Scotland since 2013, more than £50 million (∼US$63 million) has been invested in a nationwide EV charging network consisting of more than 2,400 charging points. Statistics for the year 2022 indicate that more than 2 million vehicle charging sessions took place on the public charging network in Scotland (not including third-party operators nor private charging points) and delivered approximately 43 GWh of energy to vehicles. As of January 2023, there were 69 public charging points per 100,000 people with 17.3 public rapid charging points per 100,000 people. A rapid charger is a device capable of charging an EV at ≥ 25 kW. Generally, rapid charging points are rated at 50-kW dc and above. Increasingly, the classification “rapid” is being replaced by the term journey charging

Data and code associated with “Supporting Adaptive Management with Ecological Forecasting: Chronic Wasting Disease in the Jackson Elk Herd”

Final_Data.zip contains several spreadsheets representing data collected by both the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the US Fish and Wildlife Service for elk management: Jackson feedground census, 1998-2016; Harvest data, 1997-2015; Hunt area census, 1998-2016; Chronic wasting disease test results, 1998-2015. Final_Code.zip contains several Program R scripts written for data analysis and model fitting as described in the full associated article.Adaptive management has emerged as the prevailing approach for combining environmental research and management to advance science and policy. Adaptive management, as originally formulated by Carl Walters in 1986, depends on the use of Bayesian models to provide a framework to accumulate knowledge. The emergence of ecological forecasting using the Bayesian framework has provided robust tools and supports a new approach to informing adaptive management, which can be particularly useful in developing policy for managing infectious disease in wildlife. We used the potential infection of elk populations with chronic wasting disease in the Jackson Valley of Wyoming and the National Elk Refuge as a model system to show how Bayesian forecasting can support adaptive management in anticipation of management challenges. The core of our approach resembles the sex- and age-structured, discrete time models used to support management decisions on elk harvest throughout western North America. Our model differs by including stages for CWD infected and unaffected animals. We used data on population counts, sex and age classification, and CWD testing, as well as results from prior research, in a Bayesian statistical framework to predict model parameters and the number of animals in each age, sex, and disease stage over time. Initial forecasts suggested CWD may reach a mean prevalence in the population of 12%, but uncertainty in this forecast is large and we cannot rule out a mean forecasted prevalence as high as 20%. Using recruitment rates observed during the last two decades, the model predicted that a CWD prevalence of 7% in females would cause the population growth rate (l) to drop below 1, resulting in population declines even when female harvest was zero. The primary value of this ecological forecasting approach is to provide a framework to assimilate data with understanding of disease processes to enable continuous improvement in understanding the ecology of CWD and its management.Data collection was funded as part of management efforts by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Data analysis and work for publication was funded by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service

From planning to deployment - insights into installing publicly-accessible journey EV charging infrastructure

Deploying publicly accessible electric vehicle charging infrastructure involves engaging with multiple stakeholders from various organisations to ensure successful project delivery. When installing a fleet of charging points across a wide area, the number of stakeholders increases often resulting in a disjointed or non-standardised experience for EV infrastructure developers. Based on real-world learnings, this paper suggests several improvements that could be implemented by distribution network operators that would help streamline infrastructure deployment and help accelerate the uptake of zero-carbon transport solutions