Taylorism 2.0: Gamification, Scientific Management and the Capitalist Appropriation of Play

By making work seem more like leisure time, gamification and corporate training games serve as a mechanism for solving a range of problems and, significantly, of increasing productivity. This piece examines the implications of gamification as a means of productivity gains that extend Frederick Winslow Taylor\u27s principles of scientific management, or Taylorism. Relying on measurement and observation as a mechanism to collapse the domains of labour and leisure for the benefit of businesses (rather than for the benefit or fulfilment of workers), gamification potentially subjugates all time into productive time, even as business leaders use games to mask all labour as something to be enjoyed. In so doing, this study argues, the agency of individuals - whether worker or player - becomes subject to the rationalized nature of production. This rationalization changes the nature of play, making it a duty rather than a choice, a routine rather than a process of exploration. Taken too far or used unthinkingly, it renders Huizinga\u27s magic circle into one more regulated office cubicle

X-ray absorption near edge structure and Mössbauer spectroscopy in study of iron valence states in tissues

X-ray absorption near edge structure Fe K-edge spectra and $\text{}^{57}$Fe Mössbauer spectra of selected standard compounds were recorded at room temperature. Valence and spin states of Fe in these samples known from Mössbauer spectroscopy were correlated with the shapes of X-ray absorption near edge structure spectra in search of possible application of X-ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy as analytical tool determining local electronic states of iron in tissues. As an example, the X-ray absorption near edge structure spectra of healthy and cancerous tissues of prostate are shown, suggesting Fe$\text{}^{3+}$ in cancerous tissues

Application of the QMOM in Research on the Behavior of Solid-liquid Suspensions

The population balance equation (PBE) is a continuity statement written in terms of the number density function. It describes, among others, the aggregation-breakage, nucleation and particle growth phenomena in solid-liquid suspensions. Fast and computationally inexpensive methods for solving the PBE are very much in demand today for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, industrial plants designs or scientific research. The Class Method (CM), Monte Carlo method (MC), method of moments (MOM) and its derivatives are the most popular solutions. In this work application of the Mathcad softwarefor the quadrature method of moments (QMOM) is shown. The Mathcad allows one to create a simple and clear algorithm which can be easily changed according to the user needs, e.g. in modification of an aggregation kernel mathematical formula. The program written can be readily run on a standard PC computer. To verify a correctness of calculations the appropriate measurements were made and an efficiency of the program created was compared with another one written in the Turbo Pascal language

Comparative studies of compatible and incompatible pepper–Tobamovirus interactions and the evaluation of effects of 24-epibrassinolide

The aim of study was to gain a deeper knowledge about local and systemic changes in photosynthetic processes and sugar production of pepper infected by Obuda pepper virus (ObPV) and Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV). PSII efficiency, reflectance, and gas exchange were measured 48 and/or 72 h after inoculation (hpi). Sugar accumulation was checked 72 hpi and 20 d after inoculation (as a systemic response). Inoculation of leaves with ObPV led to appearance of hypersensitive necrotic lesions (incompatible interaction), while PMMoV caused no visible symptoms (compatible interaction). ObPV (but not PMMoV) lowered F v /F m (from 0.827 to 0.148 at 72 hpi). Net photosynthesis decreased in ObPV-infected leaves. In ObPV-inoculated leaves, the accumulation of glucose, fructose, and glucose-6-phosphate was accompanied with lowered sucrose, malt oheptose, nystose, and trehalose cont ents. PMMoV inoculation increased the contents of glucose, maltose, and raffi nose in the inoculated leaves, while glucose-6-phos phate accummulated in upper leaves

A new detector concept based on the prompt gamma radiation analysis for In vivo boron monitoring in BNCT

The problem of boron concentration monitoring during the boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) therapy is one of the main challenges of this type of radiotherapy and is directly related to the nature of the interaction of neutrons with mater. Among the available in vivo methods of boron monitoring positron emission tomography seems to be very promising but it requires a new boron carrier with a β+ emitter, which is not yet clinically available. An alternative solution may be the prompt gamma radiation analysis (PGRA) based on the secondary radiation emitted in the interaction of neutrons with the patient’s tissues. This method requires, however, compact gamma radiation detection systems sustaining high counting rates and characterized by very good energy resolution. In this contribution, we present state-of-the-art solutions for monitoring in BNCT based on PGRA. Moreover, we describe a new concept of such a system based on position-sensitive scintillator detectors equipped with an anti-Compton shield and data analysis supported with modern artificial intelligence algorithms

Apportioned Commodity Fetishism and the Transformative Power of Game Studies

This chapter explores the ways in which the field of Game Studies helps shape popular understandings of player, play, and game, and specifically how the field alters the conceptual, linguistic, and discursive apparatuses that gamers use to contextualize, describe, and make sense of their experiences. The chapter deploys the concept of apportioned commodity fetishism to analyze the phenomena of discourse as practice, persona, and vagaries of game design, recursion, lexical formation, institutionalization, systems of self-effectiveness, theory as anti-theory, and commodification

Application of the QMOM in Research on the Behavior of Solid-liquid Suspensions

The population balance equation (PBE) is a continuity statement written in terms of the number density function. It describes, among others, the aggregation-breakage, nucleation and particle growth phenomena in solid-liquid suspensions. Fast and computationally inexpensive methods for solving the PBE are very much in demand today for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations, industrial plants designs or scientific research. The Class Method (CM), Monte Carlo method (MC), method of moments (MOM) and its derivatives are the most popular solutions. In this work application of the Mathcad softwarefor the quadrature method of moments (QMOM) is shown. The Mathcad allows one to create a simple and clear algorithm which can be easily changed according to the user needs, e.g. in modification of an aggregation kernel mathematical formula. The program written can be readily run on a standard PC computer. To verify a correctness of calculations the appropriate measurements were made and an efficiency of the program created was compared with another one written in the Turbo Pascal language