Celsus, Toledot Yeshu and Early Traces of Apology for Virginal Birth of Jesus

In this article New Testament passages referring to the birth of Jesus are related to Celsus’ anti-Christian arguments and the Jewish Toledot Yeshu tradition with a new question: Why it was so difficult to speak about the virgin birth of Jesus? It is argued that the concept of the virgin birth of Jesus was seen to be problematic for two reasons: 1) The concept was liable to result in scurrilous rumours, even scoffing and parodic episodes revolving on its sexual aspects. 2) Every attempt to explain that God was in some way the agent when a young girl conceived came too close to Gen. 6:1–4 – the text which explained in ancient Judaism the origin of the demonic world. Therefore, some New Testament authors (for example, the writer of the Gospel of John) deliberately avoided speaking about the virgin birth and instead presented the birth of Jesus in terms of the idea of an incarnated, personified, divine Wisdom. In order to avoid erroneous connotations relating to Gen. 6:1–4, Matthew and Luke followed a tradition where the Holy Spirit (a feminine word in Hebrew and Aramaic) played an active role in the pregnancy

Designing Location-based Games : How to support players’ social interaction, physical activity and learning about their local environment

The earliest academic studies on location-based games (LBGs) were conducted in the early 2000’s, but the recent upsurge in the popularity and success of commercial LBGs has created a need to re-examine the genre in light of new empirical evidence. In 2016, Pokemon GO brought the LBG genre into a spotlight by being downloaded hundreds of millions of times and generating over 4 billion USD in lifetime revenue to date. Since then, new games such as Jurassic World: Alive, The Walking Dead: Our World and The Witcher: Monster Slayer have emerged. Understanding phenomena related to LBGs is important for various stakeholders from game designers to urban designers and educators. In this dissertation we take an inductive approach to LBG design by gathering evidence from popular commercial LBGs with six original research articles (Studies I-VI). The studies focus on game mechanics that are unique to the LBG genre, and how reported positive outcomes of playing LBGs can be tied to these mechanics. Through the six studies we derive a game mechanics -focused design framework for LBGs, which we name the Triune PoI System, where PoI stands for point of interest. The system consists of three central components: exploration, discovery and navigation, and at the heart of these lies moving to trigger gameplay. The Triune PoI System highlights the importance of LBGs to provide multimodal motivation for players to move and play, and the crucial importance of the playing locations, the PoIs for scaffolding positive outcomes. We demonstrate how the following benefits of playing LBGs (1) physical activity; (2) social interaction; and (3) learning and discovery; are ultimately tied to the Triune PoI System (Studies I-IV). We also investigate the effects of aggressive marketing and LBG game mechanics on players’ well-being (Study V). Here we identify that aggressive marketing can exhaust players, but that the overall LBG playing intensity had a strong significant association with psychological well-being in our sample. We also demonstrate that nostalgia and imagination play crucial roles in scaffolding perceived meaningfulness of playing LBGs (Study VI). Finally, we propose that the popularity of LBGs may be explained by them embodying aspects of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle that are missing in the urban way of living. TIIVISTELMÄ Varhaisimmat akateemiset tutkimukset paikkatietoon pohjautuvista peleistä julkaistiin jo vuosituhannen alussa, mutta pelien viimeaikainen suosio ja kaupallinen menestys antavat aihetta tarkastella paikkatietoon pohjautuvien pelien suunnittelua uuden empiirisen todistusaineiston valossa. Vuonna 2016 julkaistua Pokémon GO:ta on ladattu satoja miljoonia kertoja ja sen suosion inspiroimana on julkaistu sellaisia paikkatietoon pohjautuvia pelejä kuin Jurassic World: Alive, The Walking Dead: Our World sekä The Witcher: Monster Slayer. Näiden pelien ja niihin liittyvien ilmiöiden ymmärtäminen voi olla hyödyllistä monille eri tahoille, kuten pelisuunnittelijoille, kaupunkisuunnittelijoille ja koulutuksesta vastaaville. Tässä väitöskirjatutkimuksessa lähestytään paikkatietoon pohjautuvien pelien suunnittelua induktiivisesti kuuden alkuperäisartikkelin avulla. Tutkimuksessa selvitetään mitkä ovat paikkatietoon pohjautuvien pelien keskeisimmät pelimekaniikat ja miten raportoidut positiiviset vaikutukset nivoutuvat niihin. Tulokset osoittavat, että suosittujen paikkatietoon pohjautuvien pelien keskiössä on ns. "Triune PoI System", joka koostuu 3+1 komponentista: tutkiminen, löytäminen ja navigointi; sekä liikkuminen. Toisin sanoen pelaajat lähtevät tutkimaan ympäristöään, löytävät sieltä mielenkiintoisia kohteita ja navigoivat niiden luokse. Lisäksi pelien keskeisenä elementtinä on pelkästä liikkumisesta palkitseminen. Tutkimuksessa osoitetaan, että liikunta, sosiaalinen vuorovaikutus ja oppiminen on suosituissa peleissä, kuten Pokémon GO:ssa, keskeisesti sidottu Triune PoI Systemiin. Lisäksi selvitetään mitä vaikutuksia kaupallisten paikkatietoon pohjautuvien pelien markkinoinnilla ja mikrotransaktiomekanismeilla on pelaajien hyvinvointiin. Tutkimuksessa havaitaan, että markkinointi saattaa väsyttää pelaajia, mutta kokonaisuutena paikkatietoon pohjautuvien pelien pelaamisella ja hyvinvoinnilla on tilastollisesti merkitsevä vahva yhteys. Lisäksi osoitetaan, että nostalgia ja mielikuvitus tukevat tunnetta pelaamisen merkityksellistä. Lopuksi ehdotetaan, että paikkatietoon pohjautuvien pelien suosiota saattaa selittää niiden tarjoamat metsästäjä-keräilijä-elämän aspektit, joista urbaanissa miljöössä elävät ihmiset jäävät arkielämässään paitsi

Paul's Use of the Septuagint in Romans 9-11

The undertaking of the present study was to examine Paul’s use of the Septuagint in Rom. 9-11, especially the guidelines which affect his interpretation of the Old Testament. To truly come to terms with the issue, a concise overview of the content of his Epistle to the Romans was provided. The opening of the letter (1:2-4), the thematic verses of the letter (1:16-17) as well as the concluding climax of the letter (16:25-26) show that an Old Testament perspective is crucial in all of his theology. In addition, some relevant aspects of Paul’s general way of interpreting the Old Testament were presented and expanded. He repeatedly employs the “promise – fulfillment” scheme in his attempt to define more in-depth the relationship between the Old and New Testament. Further, he frequently draws on typological Bible exposition, rendering the Old Testament accounts and events as a paradigm for the New Testament time span. It follows that the Old Testament as a whole turns out to be a Christological book, referring to the salvation historical development in the New Testament. The Pauline manner of interpreting the Old Testament achieved more precision and accuracy through a comprehensive exegesis of Rom. 9-11 which particularly relate to Israel and their Holy Scriptures. Here all Old Testament quotations (and various Old Testament allusions) were examined one by one. Where appropriate, the original context of the quotations was also observed. As regards quoting the Old Testament, Paul cites recurrently, but not always the Septuagint (or possibly another Greek translation). Sometimes he (or perhaps someone else before him) clearly translates his text directly from the Hebrew. Occasionally, different passages are joined or mixed together under the impression that they as Holy Scripture speak with one voice for the same truth. Everywhere, a strong theological, i.e. Christological, conviction has an important impact on their real meaning. All in all, Paul does not read his Bible arbitrarily. There are crystal clear criteria for assessing his exposition of Scripture. He uses his methods – to put it anachronistically for the sake of clarity – “strictly scientifically.” Yet, his insights and understanding are not built on an atheistic or agnostic foundation, but on the cornerstone, Jesus Christ (cf. Eph. 2:20). Paradoxically, herein lies the stumbling stone: To really understand the Old Testament and therefore also the New Testament, or the other way around, the reader from the outset has to believe in Christ as the fulfillment of Scripture

Comparing Social Media Reactions to Early Game Songs and Final Boss Music in Single Player Adventure Games

Single player video games unite players through shared experiences, passion and knowledge about the game. We investigate the role of video game music in this setting. We analyse comments (n=1893) on 20 popular single player adventure game songs on social media sorted into four clusters based on the following two variables (1) age of the game; and (2) whether the song appears early on in the game or at the end. We discovered that there are more similarities in the types of comments and sentiments between early game songs across games than between songs from the same game. Early game songs had more comments related to nostalgia, sadness and "feeling of home" compared to late game songs. Comments on late game songs were more focused on players' experiences while playing. Overall, all 20 songs had overwhelmingly more comments on associations (both game and life related) than on the actual song itself

A Lightweight Co-Construction Activity for Teaching 21st Century Skills at Primary Schools

Employing learning processes that promote 21st Century skills is now a requirement in Finnish schools and elsewhere. Participatory design/co-design activities have shown to foster design thinking and computational thinking skills in primary school level participants, but a lightweight applicable model of such an activity is yet to be presented. We develop a lightweight hybrid co-construction method based on software development via two exploratory case studies in a Finnish primary school. For the purpose of evaluating objectively the motivating effects of our activity, we elaborate upon four concerning dimensions that arise from previous studies. In our resulting activity, an adult programmer is partnered with a group of children to, in this case, construct math games together. The children felt empowered and motivated by working with us in this way, however, further study is required on the effects this kind of an activity has in comparison to alternative teaching methods

WHEN TO SET GOALS THAT HOLD? LONGITUDINAL EVIDENCE FROM INFORMATION SYSTEM-SUPPORTED SMOKING CESSATION

Goal setting literature suggests that individuals set their goals more frequently on temporal landmarks, e.g. the New Year’s day (known as the fresh start effect). What remains unclear is whether setting goals on temporal landmarks has also a positive impact on goal attainment. We investigated goal setting and attainment behaviours in the context of an information system dedicated for smoking cessation with design features to promote such behaviours. We collected data from almost 1 million unique users from 2015 to 2021 and studied the effects of goals set on temporal landmarks on goal attainment for two groups: (1) users in their first attempts; and (2) users who continuously set the same goal. The results show that setting goals on temporal landmarks have mostly a negative influence on goal attainment for the first group. However, for the second group, setting goals on temporal landmarks is largely positively correlated with goal attainment

Understanding Software Obfuscation and Diversification as Defensive Measures for the Cybersecurity of Internet of Things

Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as an umbrella term to describe connecting smart everyday objects (such as washing machines, toilets and sound systems), sensors and industrial machines to the internet. While IoT devices hold potential to greatly enhance quality of life through automating and optimizing mundane tasks, there are a great deal of security and privacy challenges. For this reason, practitioners and academics have explored various ways to enhance the multi-layered security of IoT devices. One of these methods is obfuscation, which has been successfully applied to make accessing devices more difficult for adversaries. In this study, we systematically processed the literature on applying obfuscation and diversification to improve IoT cybersecurity (81 articles) and clustered this research according the obfuscation target (code, data, interface, location, traffic). We then conducted a follow-up bibliometric review of the entire research profile of IoT cybersecurity (3,682 articles) to understand how these obfuscation and diversification approaches relate to the general cybersecurity landscape and solutions of IoT. We also derive a comprehensive list of benefits and shortcomings of enhancing IoT security through diversification, and present points of departure for future research

Dark Desires? Using the Theory of Basic Desires to Better Understand Toxic Behavior in Multiplayer Online Games

Within the context of multiplayer online battle arena video games (MOBAs) toxic behavior (TB) remains a complex and yet unsolved socio-technological challenge. While significant work has been done recently, there is a lack of theory-guided approaches for curbing TB. In this work, we test the motivational theory of basic desires for explaining the occurrence of TB. For this, we used a survey approach and collected a sample consisting of players of the successful MOBAs League of Legends and Dota 2 (n = 308). Using a PCA, results indicate two underlying factors of the 16 basic desires (i.e., physiological and social factors). Consequently, both factors hold the potential to explain TB. In addition, the predisposition age showed a significant influence on TB in our sample. These findings highlight the 16 basic desires as a promising frame for understanding the antecedents of TB

Religion and cultural change

The current issue of Approaching Religion is based on a summer school and conference arranged in Åbo/Turku, Finland, in June 2021, with the theme ‘Religion and Cultural Change’. The event was organized jointly by the Polin Institute for Theological Research (Åbo Akademi University), the Centre for the Study of Christian Cultures (University of Turku), and the Donner Institute for Research in Religion and Culture. The aim was to bring together doctoral candidates and researchers from various academic fields who engage with the study of religion, such as theology, religious studies, history, philosophy, the arts, social and political sciences and so forth. This included presentations that engaged with the theme Religion and Cultural Change from both historical and contemporary perspectives, as well as looking to the future where possible. As conference organizers, we wanted to highlight cultural change both as dramatic breaking points in history and as slowly evolving transformations. Hence, the conference theme allowed us to address past, present and emerging trends and trajectories within culture, society and the scholarly community. The issue is financed and published by the Polin Institute for Theological Research at Åbo Akademi University, Finland: https://www.polininstitute.fi

Architecture of Belonging – A Social Identity-based Design Theory of Community Identification in Multiplayer Video Games

Recently several studies have worked towards a better understanding of reasons to play multiplayer online games (MOGs). Despite multiple approaches used, understanding of the topic remains incomplete due to its complexity. This study constructs an explanatory design theory of community identification as a predictor of engagement in MOGs. To that end, a structured multimixed-method study was conducted. First, a quantitative survey (N=236) was used to illustrate the explanatory power of community identification in the specific context of our study. Second, a workshop (N=10) was held identifying similarity and mutual influence as the most meaningful design elements of community identification. On this basis, and building off the design science paradigm, and assumptions from the contrast model and interactive richness, an explanatory design theory to foster community identification in MOGs is derived. The model features the elements of the design factors similarity (high vs. low) and interactive richness (rich vs. poor) that can be tested in future (experimental) research