Effective player guidance in logic puzzles

Pen & paper puzzle games are an extremely popular pastime, often enjoyed by demographics normally not considered to be ‘gamers’. They are increasingly used as ‘serious games’ and there has been extensive research into computationally generating and efficiently solving them. However, there have been few academic studies that have focused on the players themselves. Presenting an appropriate level of challenge to a player is essential for both player enjoyment and engagement. Providing appropriate assistance is an essential mechanic for making a game accessible to a variety of players. In this thesis, we investigate how players solve Progressive Pen & Paper Puzzle Games (PPPPs) and how to provide meaningful assistance that allows players to recover from being stuck, while not reducing the challenge to trivial levels. This thesis begins with a qualitative in-person study of Sudoku solving. This study demonstrates that, in contrast to all existing assumptions used to model players, players were unsystematic, idiosyncratic and error-prone. We then designed an entirely new approach to providing assistance in PPPPs, which guides players towards easier deductions rather than, as current systems do, completing the next cell for them. We implemented a novel hint system using our design, with the assessment of the challenge being done using Minimal Unsatisfiable Sets (MUSs). We conducted four studies, using two different PPPPs, that evaluated the efficacy of the novel hint system compared to the current hint approach. The studies demonstrated that our novel hint system was as helpful as the existing system while also improving the player experience and feeling less like cheating. Players also chose to use our novel hint system significantly more often. We have provided a new approach to providing assistance to PPPP players and demonstrated that players prefer it over existing approaches

Using small MUSes to explain how to solve pen and paper puzzles

Pen and paper puzzles like Sudoku, Futoshiki and Skyscrapers are hugely popular. Solving such puzzles can be a trivial task for modern AI systems. However, most AI systems solve problems using a form of backtracking, while people try to avoid backtracking as much as possible. This means that existing AI systems do not output explanations about their reasoning that are meaningful to people. We present Demystify, a tool which allows puzzles to be expressed in a high-level constraint programming language and uses MUSes to allow us to produce descriptions of steps in the puzzle solving. We give several improvements to the existing techniques for solving puzzles with MUSes, which allow us to solve a range of significantly more complex puzzles and give higher quality explanations. We demonstrate the effectiveness and generality of Demystify by comparing its results to documented strategies for solving a range of pen and paper puzzles by hand, showing that our technique can find many of the same explanations.Publisher PD

Designing for inclusion in public playgrounds: a scoping review of definitions, and utilization of universal design

Purpose: Public playgrounds afford children and families important opportunities for outdoor play, social participation, and inclusion. Unfortunately, many children and families experience barriers to accessing, using, and being included in public playgrounds. Consequently, Universal Design (UD) is promoted for providing conceptual guidance for designing for inclusion in public playgrounds. However, a lack of research evidence means researchers have engaged in the ongoing interpretation of the UD concept and related non-discriminatory planning and design concepts. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine how UD, and related concepts, are used in peer-reviewed articles concerning public playgrounds. Materials and methods: A scoping review was conducted in November 2019, which identified 15 peer-reviewed articles that met the inclusion criteria. Results: Analysis revealed that the terms UD, inclusive design, accessibility, and usability are all being used to describe non-discriminatory planning and design concepts arbitrarily and without regard for higher or lower order concepts. Two broad interpretations were evident: (a) UD is synonymous with accessibility for some, and (b) UD is a higher-order concept that goes beyond accessibility for others. Nevertheless, findings highlight the utility of UD in underpinning the design of public playgrounds in many developed countries; however, the concept requires further clarity and specificity as it pertains to playground design and more pertinently inclusion in outdoor play. Conclusions: We argue for further conceptual refinement to consolidate the importance and future application of UD for Play (UDP) in the design of public playgrounds that promote outdoor play, social participation, and inclusion. Implications for rehabilitation: Most peer-reviewed journal articles reviewed fail to define what is meant by the term Universal Design. Of those that do provide a definition, the outcome of inclusion in play, or the application of Universal Design to enable play in public playgrounds was unclear. Research to date has mostly focused on related concepts, including accessibility and usability, with less emphasis on Universal Design. Recommend a tailored perspective of Universal Design for Play (UDP

Can universal design support outdoor play, social participation, and inclusion in public playgrounds? A scoping review

Purpose: To synthesize evidence regarding the physical design features and non-physical aspects of public playgrounds that facilitate/hinder outdoor play, social participation, and inclusion; identify design recommendations; and explore the current discourses and concepts around designing for outdoor play, social participation, and inclusion in public playgrounds in the context of Universal Design (UD). Methods: Published studies addressing public playgrounds, inclusion, and design, were identified via a systematic search of eleven databases from health, science, education, and humanities. Results: Fifteen documents met the inclusion criteria. Three main themes were identified concerning physical design features and non-physical aspects of public playgrounds that facilitate/hinder outdoor play, social participation, and inclusion, with associated design recommendations. Although UD is recognized to have the potential to support the design of public playgrounds, no studies examined UD solutions for playgrounds or tested them for effectiveness. Conclusion: We cannot yet determine whether UD can support outdoor play, social participation, and inclusion in public playgrounds. Research to date has mostly focused on understanding usersâ perspectives; future research should continue to be informed by diverse usersâ perspectives to address gaps in knowledge concerning childrenâ s voice from migrants, lower socioeconomic communities, and intergenerational users with disabilities alongside researching design solutions for play. Implications for rehabilitation: Children, particularly children with disabilities and their families, continue to experience marginalization and exclusion in public playgrounds, despite a commitment to inclusion in international treaties. Universal design is recognized to have the potential to support the design of public playgrounds, however, the evidence is currently very sparse. While accessibility is an important consideration for playground design, it does not ensure that play occupations can take place. Extending knowledge on universal design as it applies explicitly to playgrounds and play occupation requires multi- and trans-disciplinary collaboration that includes a play-centered perspective

Designing public playgrounds for inclusion: a scoping review of grey literature guidelines for Universal Design

Universal Design (UD) is promoted internationally for the design of public playgrounds that support outdoor play, social participation, and inclusion. Despite this international recognition of UD, there is a lack of research evidence concerning the applicability of UD for playground design. Instead, municipalities need to rely on best practice guidelines to inform the design of public playgrounds for inclusion. Internationally, numerous grey literature guidelines have been produced for designing public playgrounds for inclusion, resulting in a lack of consensus on core principles for applying UD. Thus, this scoping review study aimed to synthesise findings from a review of international grey literature guidelines to strengthen the knowledgebase for designing public playgrounds for inclusion. Three themes were identified that characterise core considerations for good design: (1) design approaches, (2) design principles and (3) design recommendations. Although UD is recognised as having potential to support the design of public playgrounds, inconsistent design approaches, principles, and recommendations, were communicated within these guideline documents. Still, the core concept of inclusion underpinned all guideline documents and a tailored application of UD dominated. Consequently, to fully realise the design of public playgrounds for inclusion, UD may need to be tailored for play; however, further research is required

A national study of playground professionals universal design implementation practices

Globally, Universal Design (UD) is promoted as an evidence-informed approach for planning and designing accessible and inclusive public playgrounds, which are valuable sites for outdoor play in child-friendly cities. However, it remains unclear the extent to which UD has been implemented in public playgrounds. The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which UD is implemented, from the perspectives of playground professionals in the Republic of Ireland. A descriptive, cross-sectional online survey was used to gather data. Data analysis revealed that playground professionals recognise the importance of UD for planning, designing, and providing public playgrounds for inclusion, and implement UD in various ways. Still, a lack of knowledge and good practice guides for embedding UD, constitute significant barriers. Numerous opportunities, initiatives and training prospects were identified to better support the implementation of UD. Moreover, further research with ‘professional experts’ and ‘user-experts’ is required to strengthen socio-spatial inclusion

Silver Diamine Fluoride Versus Sodium Fluoride for Arresting Dentine Caries in Children: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Dental caries can compromise quality of life and is associated with demineralization of tooth structure by organic acids produced by microorganisms. This study systematically reviewed the dentine caries arrest capabilities of silver diamine fluoride (SDF) and sodium fluoride (NaF). A comprehensive search strategy was developed to identify the relevant publications in electronic databases and hand searched journals and reviews (to March 2018). By applying strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, only six papers (two randomized controlled trials, two follow-up articles and two secondary statistical analysis studies) were considered for full text qualitative and quantitative assessment. The included studies were critically appraised and statistically evaluated. Only four articles were considered for meta-analysis, as the other two were secondary analyses of included studies. When comparing the caries arrest lesions of SDF and NaF, SDF was found to be statistically more effective in dentine caries arrest of primary teeth during the 18 and 30 month clinical examinations. The weighted total effect size of the differences between SDF and NaF regarding arrested caries surfaces was calculated and showed nearly double the effectiveness of SDF to NaF at 30 months. Therefore, SDF is a more effective caries management reagent than NaF. Further clinical research is needed to consolidate the findings of this systematic review

Articulating encounters between children and plastics

In the context of global concerns about plastics, this paper sets out and exemplifies a research agenda for articulating children’s encounters with plastics. The paper analyses data co-produced with 11–15 year-olds through interviews, app-based research and experimental/arts-led workshops. It moves beyond scholarship in health and environmental sciences, and in environmental education research, to outline a far richer range of ways to conceptualise children’s encounters with plastics, based in children’s everyday, embodied and emotive interactions with plastics

Application of tandem two-dimensional mass spectrometry for top-down deep sequencing of calmodulin

Two-dimensional mass spectrometry (2DMS) involves simultaneous acquisition of the fragmentation patterns of all the analytes in a mixture by correlating their precursor and fragment ions by modulating precursor ions systematically through a fragmentation zone. Tandem two-dimensional mass spectrometry (MS/2DMS) unites the ultra-high accuracy of Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) MS/MS and the simultaneous data-independent fragmentation of 2DMS to achieve extensive inter-residue fragmentation of entire proteins. 2DMS was recently developed for top-down proteomics (TDP), and applied to the analysis of calmodulin (CaM), reporting a cleavage coverage of about ~23% using infrared multiphoton dissociation (IRMPD) as fragmentation technique. The goal of this work is to expand the utility of top-down protein analysis using MS/2DMS in order to extend the cleavage coverage in top-down proteomics further into the interior regions of the protein. In this case, using MS/2DMS, the cleavage coverage of CaM increased from ~23% to ~42%