The Hardcore Scorecard: Defining, Quantifying and Understanding “Hardcore” Video Game Culture

ABSTRACT The goal of the current study is to further conceptualize and define the term “hardcore” as it relates to video game culture. Past research indicates that members of cultural subdivisions favor their own group versus others due to perceived commonalities (Durkheim, 1915; Tajfel, 1970). In gaming culture, the subdivisions of “hardcore” and “casual” games/gamers have become especially salient in recent years. However, the definition of what constitutes “hardcore” and “casual” is inconsistent (Adams, 2000; Alexandre, 2012; Jacobs & Ip, 2003; Juul, 2010; Kim, 2001; Kuittinen, Kultima, Niemelä & Paavilainen, 2007; Wallace & Robbins, 2006). Therefore, it is beneficial to better understand these terms considering the implications: less audience infighting, more accurately tailored game design/marketing, and less ambiguous/sensationalist gaming journalism/media. A sample of 109 undergraduate students from a large university (19,000 undergraduates) in an upstate New York city (metropolitan population of 1.1 million) completed an online survey, reporting their perceptions of hardcore gaming. Values were then attributed to certain video game criteria based on the survey results and applied to popular games. The sum of these values produced a hardcore index for the “scorecard.” To assess the scorecard’s validity, correlations were run between our final values and an independently collected hardcore percentage publicly available on the Wii’s Nintendo Channel (327,818.45 average respondents per game). Results suggest hardcore gaming is perceived as a harsh subculture consisting of long play times, challenging play, anti-social behavior, and content not suitable for children. The index produced by the resulting “hardcore scorecard” was significantly correlated (r = .765, p \u3c .01) with the independently collected data on the Nintendo Channel. Thus, the current research provides tools the gaming industry (users, developers, journalists) can use to their advantage by better understanding and defining the term “hardcore,” as well as a valuable blueprint for future research to continue refining and improving

Performance of road bridges during the 14 November 2016 Kaikōura earthquake

The transport infrastructure was majorly affected by the 14lh November 2016 Kaikōura Earthquake. Severe vertical and horizontal peak ground accelerations generated high inertial forces, land-slides, and liquefaction. Most of the bridges in the Hurunui, Malborough and Kaikōura districts were critical nodes to the railway and road networks. In total, 904 road bridges across those districts were affected. Two reached the life safety limit state, suffering severe damage, however, most of the affected bridges experienced only minor to moderate damage. This paper describes the structural performance of the most severely damaged bridges based on observations made from site inspections. In addition to this, several performance issues have arisen from this event and are posed in this paper, hopefully to be addressed in the near future

Exploring opportunities and limitations of 3D concrete printing technology in New Zealand

3D printing, formally known as additive manufacturing (AM), is a process by which physical objects are created by depositing materials in layers based on a digital model with no needs of tooling and little human intervention. 3D concrete printing is an alternative construction method which has the potential to revolutionize the construction industry globally, including New Zealand, with significant benefits such as reduced manpower; greater geometric freedom; reduced material consumption and wastage; improved accuracy and safety on-site. The potential benefits of this technology could affect housing affordability and address current needs in the New Zealand housing market. This paper analyses potential opportunities and challenges of 3D concrete printing for New Zealand’s housing market. First, a comprehensive review of state-of-art 3D concrete printing technologies is presented. Then, a case study is used to show the benefits and limitations of 3D printing technique in the New Zealand context. Preliminary results suggest that if the full potential of 3D printing technology can be realised, the productivity of the construction industry and the affordability of houses in New Zealand can be improved. Finally, the paper suggests the future research required to make 3D printing a feasible construction technique in New Zealand

Vicende storiche della lingua di Roma

Vicende storiche della lingua di Roma s’intitola il saggio con cui, nel1929, Clemente Merlo dava avvio agli studi scientifici moderni sul romanesco antico, mentre pochi anni dopo, nel 1932, Bruno Migliorini definiva la storia del romanesco come «la storia del suo disfacimento, dovuto all’azione esercitata per secoli su di esso dal toscano che gli si sovrappose». I due nomi citati stanno per le due tradizioni di ricerca, quella glottologica e quella storico-linguistica, che da allora su questo oggetto proteiforme si sono esercitate, evidenziandone da un lato le specificità strutturali rispetto alla lingua nazionale, dall’altro la particolarità sociolinguistica nel panorama italiano, particolarità che consiste proprio nell’aver instaurato col volgare sovraregionale una precocissima osmosi. A questa varietà italoromanza «a statuto speciale» il presente volume propone un accostamento in tre parti: una prima dedicata a diversi Aspetti di grammatica storica del romanesco dalle Origini ai giorni nostri, una seconda su Il romanesco dall’Ottocento ad oggi attraverso i testi ed una terza che ne illustra le Dinamiche sociolinguistiche, con particolare riguardo alla situazione contemporanea

Introduzione

Nel testo si presentano i contenuti del volume, mettendo in evidenza gli aspetti rilevanti di ogni suo capitolo

Post-earthquake recovery phase of winery facilities. A case study in the Marlborough area

New Zealand wine export reached a record of NZ$1.7 billion in 2018. It constitutes an important sector of the economy of the country. Approximately 70% of New Zealand wine is produced in the Marlborough region. In recent years, this area has been subjected to a number of seismic events including the Mw 6.6 Cook strait and the Mw 6.6 Lake Grassmere earthquakes in 2013, and the Mw 7.8 Kaikōura earthquake in 2016. After the Kaikōura event, New Zealand Wine estimated that about 20% of the wine tank capacity was impaired. In 2018, repairing works on wine tanks and winery infrastructures were still underway reducing the total tank capacity and potentially impacting the wine production. Following an overview of damage observations of winery facilities after the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake, this paper discusses the recovery phase currently underway. The performance of wine storage tanks and other winery facilities is analysed and discussed. Preliminary results from a case study show that in late 2018, the winery has recovered approximately 85% of the original functionality and interviews with winery managers highlighted that delays in the replacement of failed tanks and repair of moderately damaged tanks might be attributed to some extent to the insurance process. It is forecast a 90% recover by the 2019 harvest. Temporary and permanent mitigation strategies are critical to this recovery and some solutions are herein presented

Performance of road bridges during the 14 November 2016 Kaikoura Earthquake

The transport infrastructure was majorly affected by the 14th November 2016 Kaikōura Earthquake. Severe vertical and horizontal peak ground accelerations generated high inertial forces, land-slides, and liquefaction. Most of the bridges in the Hurunui, Malborough and Kaikōura districts were critical nodes to the railway and road networks. In total, 904 road bridges across those districts were affected. Two reached the life safety limit state, suffering severe damage, however, most of the affected bridges experienced only minor to moderate damage. This paper describes the structural performance of the most severely damaged bridges based on observations made from site inspections. In addition to this, several performance issues have arisen from this event and are posed in this paper, hopefully to be addressed in the near future