Data visualization of virtual reality library user data

Abstract. User research is an important part of developing software. In the gaming industry, different ways to analyse user behaviour is an increasingly important part of research. However, as game analytics are relatively new to the game industry, there is limited amount of research available. In this work, we discuss how to visualise collected data in virtual reality environments in a meaningful way to improve product quality and extract user behaviour patterns. We use clustering algorithms and analytical functions to have a more comprehensive look on test participants’ behaviour with our Data Visualization tool. This behaviour is then presented using different path maps, heat maps and data charts. Originally our aim was to conclude research on user behaviour in the Oulu Virtual Library application, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to change our focus from user research to designing and implementing a tool for researchers to analyse similar data sets as our example data. Even though we had no concrete user data, researchers can use the tool we developed with relative small modifications, when dealing with similar data cases in the future. Usability improvements and real-word experiences are still needed to make the tool more robust.Tiivistelmä. Käyttäjätutkimus on tärkeä osa ohjelmistokehitystä. Koska pelianalytiikka on suhteellisen uutta peliteollisuudessa ja saatavilla oleva tutkimus vähäistä, loppukäyttäjien toiminnan analysointi on yhä tärkeämpi osa peliteollisuuden kehitystä. Tässä tutkielmassa pohditaan, kuinka virtuaaliympäristöistä kerättyä dataa voidaan esittää, merkityksellisellä tavalla, tuotteiden kehittämiseksi ja käyttäjien erilaisten käyttäytymismallien tunnistamiseksi. Käytämme ryhmittelyalgoritmeja ja analyyttisia funktioita, jotta saamme esitettyä käyttäjien toimintaa datavisualisointityökaluamme hyödyntämällä. Käyttäjien toiminta esitetään erilaisten polku- ja lämpökarttojen sekä datakaavioiden avulla. Alkuperäisenä tarkoituksenamme oli tutkia käyttäjien toimintaa Oulun Virtuaalikirjasto-sovelluksessa, mutta COVID-19-pandemian takia jouduimme siirtämään painopisteen käyttäjätutkimuksesta tutkijoille suunnatun datavisualisointityökalun suunnitteluun ja kehitykseen. Vaikka emme saaneet konkreettista aineistoa, tutkijat voivat käyttää työkalua, suhteellisen pienillä muunnoksilla, esimerkkiaineistoa vastaavan aineiston käsitelyyn ja analysointiin tulevaisuudessa. Työkalu tarvitsee yhä käytettävyysparannuksia ja todellisia käyttökokemuksia työkalun käyttövarmuuden parantamiseksi

On some problems involving Hardy's function

Some problems involving the classical Hardy function $$Z(t) := \zeta(1/2+it)\bigl(\chi(1/2+it)\bigr)^{-1/2}, \quad \zeta(s) = \chi(s)\zeta(1-s)$$ are discussed. In particular we discuss the odd moments of $Z(t)$, the distribution of its positive and negative values and the primitive of $Z(t)$. Some analogous problems for the mean square of $|\zeta(1/2+it)|$ are also discussed.Comment: 15 page

The rise of policy coherence for development: a multi-causal approach

In recent years policy coherence for development (PCD) has become a key principle in international development debates, and it is likely to become even more relevant in the discussions on the post-2015 sustainable development goals. This article addresses the rise of PCD on the Western donors’ aid agenda. While the concept already appeared in the work of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in the early 1990s, it took until 2007 before PCD became one of the Organisation’s key priorities. We adopt a complexity-sensitive perspective, involving a process-tracing analysis and a multi-causal explanatory framework. We argue that the rise of PCD is not as contingent as it looks. While actors such as the EU, the DAC and OECD Secretariat were the ‘active causes’ of the rise of PCD, it is equally important to look at the underlying ‘constitutive causes’ which enabled policy coherence to thrive well

The subconvexity problem for \GL_{2}

Generalizing and unifying prior results, we solve the subconvexity problem for the $L$-functions of \GL_{1} and \GL_{2} automorphic representations over a fixed number field, uniformly in all aspects. A novel feature of the present method is the softness of our arguments; this is largely due to a consistent use of canonically normalized period relations, such as those supplied by the work of Waldspurger and Ichino--Ikeda.Comment: Almost final version to appear in Publ. Math IHES. References updated

Evidence for the classical integrability of the complete AdS(4) x CP(3) superstring

We construct a zero-curvature Lax connection in a sub-sector of the superstring theory on AdS(4) x CP(3) which is not described by the OSp(6|4)/U(3) x SO(1,3) supercoset sigma-model. In this sub-sector worldsheet fermions associated to eight broken supersymmetries of the type IIA background are physical fields. As such, the prescription for the construction of the Lax connection based on the Z_4-automorphism of the isometry superalgebra OSp(6|4) does not do the job. So, to construct the Lax connection we have used an alternative method which nevertheless relies on the isometry of the target superspace and kappa-symmetry of the Green-Schwarz superstring.Comment: 1+26 pages; v2: minor typos corrected, acknowledgements adde

Platelet Ice Under Arctic Pack Ice in Winter

The formation of platelet ice is well known to occur under Antarctic sea ice, where subice platelet layers form from supercooled ice shelf water. In the Arctic, however, platelet ice formation has not been extensively observed, and its formation and morphology currently remain enigmatic. Here, we present the first comprehensive, long‐term in situ observations of a decimeter thick subice platelet layer under free‐drifting pack ice of the Central Arctic in winter. Observations carried out with a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) during the midwinter leg of the MOSAiC drift expedition provide clear evidence of the growth of platelet ice layers from supercooled water present in the ocean mixed layer. This platelet formation takes place under all ice types present during the surveys. Oceanographic data from autonomous observing platforms lead us to the conclusion that platelet ice formation is a widespread but yet overlooked feature of Arctic winter sea ice growth

Murine and Bovine γδ T Cells Enhance Innate Immunity against Brucella abortus Infections

γδ T cells have been postulated to act as a first line of defense against infectious agents, particularly intracellular pathogens, representing an important link between the innate and adaptive immune responses. Human γδ T cells expand in the blood of brucellosis patients and are active against Brucella in vitro. However, the role of γδ T cells in vivo during experimental brucellosis has not been studied. Here we report TCRδ−/− mice are more susceptible to B. abortus infection than C57BL/6 mice at one week post-infection as measured by splenic colonization and splenomegaly. An increase in TCRγδ cells was observed in the spleens of B. abortus-infected C57BL/6 mice, which peaked at two weeks post-infection and occurred concomitantly with diminished brucellae. γδ T cells were the major source of IL-17 following infection and also produced IFN-γ. Depletion of γδ T cells from C57BL/6, IL-17Rα−/−, and GMCSF−/− mice enhanced susceptibility to B. abortus infection although this susceptibility was unaltered in the mutant mice; however, when γδ T cells were depleted from IFN-γ−/− mice, enhanced susceptibility was observed. Neutralization of γδ T cells in the absence of TNF-α did not further impair immunity. In the absence of TNF-α or γδ T cells, B. abortus-infected mice showed enhanced IFN-γ, suggesting that they augmented production to compensate for the loss of γδ T cells and/or TNF-α. While the protective role of γδ T cells was TNF-α-dependent, γδ T cells were not the major source of TNF-α and activation of γδ T cells following B. abortus infection was TNF-α-independent. Additionally, bovine TCRγδ cells were found to respond rapidly to B. abortus infection upon co-culture with autologous macrophages and could impair the intramacrophage replication of B. abortus via IFN-γ. Collectively, these results demonstrate γδ T cells are important for early protection to B. abortus infections

Inducible Bronchus-Associated Lymphoid Tissue Elicited by a Protein Cage Nanoparticle Enhances Protectionin Mice against Diverse Respiratory Viruses

Destruction of the architectural and subsequently the functional integrity of the lung following pulmonary viral infections is attributable to both the extent of pathogen replication and to the host-generated inflammation associated with the recruitment of immune responses. The presence of antigenically disparate pulmonary viruses and the emergence of novel viruses assures the recurrence of lung damage with infection and resolution of each primary viral infection. Thus, there is a need to develop safe broad spectrum immunoprophylactic strategies capable of enhancing protective immune responses in the lung but which limits immune-mediated lung damage. The immunoprophylactic strategy described here utilizes a protein cage nanoparticle (PCN) to significantly accelerate clearance of diverse respiratory viruses after primary infection and also results in a host immune response that causes less lung damage