Gaming addiction, definition, and measurement: a large-scale empirical study

Aims: Although the general public appears to have embraced the term 'video game addiction', the scientific debate as to whether 'gaming addiction' can actually be considered an addiction similar to substance addictions of DSM-IV is still unsettled. To date, research on gaming addiction has focused on problematic behavior from the gaming activity itself and there has been little empirical research related to pathological personality patterns that usually are associated with substance addictions. Therefore, the current study examined how excessive gaming and ‘problematic gaming behavior’ are related to personality patterns associated with addiction by means of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 MMPI-2). Design, setting, and participants: A large-scale survey study among 1,004 adolescent boys (age-range 11-18 years; M =14.18, SD=1.36; response rate 96.17%). Measurements: Problematic gaming behavior, physical game-related symptoms, gaming behavior and three MMPI-2 subscales measuring personality patterns usually associated with substance addiction (MAC-R, APS, AAS) were assessed. Findings: Results showed that problematic gaming and physical game-related symptoms were positively related to all three substance abuse subscales of the MMPI-2. Conclusions: Problematic gaming should be clearly distinguished from excessive gaming. In short, excessive gaming merely indicates enthusiasm for some although it may be psychopathological for others

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A FIRST-YEAR TEACHING MANUAL ON THE PRINCIPLES OF GRAPHIC DESIGN

ThesisThe origins of design are found in the Italian word disegnare, which means 'create' (Pipes, 2008:8). Pipes further claims that graphic designers use their knowledge to make consumer goods and gadgets desirable. To create a design that will interest the viewer, a graphic designer uses the rules and principles of graphic design. The vision of the Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT), is to be "a globally connected African university of technology that focuses on the needs of Southern Africa and supports graduates for citizenship with skills and competencies in appropriate technologies", while the mission of the CUT is to deliver "high-quality appropriate science, engineering and technology (SET) academic programmes supported by applied research" (Central University of Technology, Free State, Calendar 2015). Having been a lecturer for more than ten years, it became clear to the researcher that students struggle to link theory to practice and application. Tempelman and Pilot (2010:262) state that "a first promising solution to this problem is to interweave theory and practice much closer". Tempelman and Pilot further mention that the interweaving of theory and practice can contribute to the building of a student's knowledge and skills. The use of graphic design principles will also lessen the time taken to complete a successful design because these principles can be used as a formula (Castelluccio, 2008:58). A non-experimental research design which can be classified into three categories, namely relational designs, comparative designs and longitudinal designs, but for the purpose of this study a comparative design was used, because the comparative design compares two or more groups on one or more variable. In this case the effectiveness of a teaching manual was determined according to the perceptions of three groups, namely second-, third- and fourth-year graphic design students and graphic design lecturers at the CUT as well as the graphic design industry as represented in this study by a number of graphic design studio owners. A stratified purposeful sampling method was followed which included students, lecturers and industry in the field of graphic design. As background to the study, a literature review was conducted, providing an overview of graphic design principles and manual design and theory guiding the study. The research was conducted in three phases: (1) a quantitative research was conducted where student perception questionnaires were used to determine the respondents' (students') perceptions on The Principles of Graphic Design manual; (2) basic individual interviewing were used to gather information from specifically targeted participants (Munro, 2014:59) such as the lecturers of Basic Design Principles in order to determine whether the students' skills and competencies are enhanced with the aid of the aforementioned Manual and computerised self-administered questionnaires (CSAQ) were used as data collecting method for industry (design studio owners) to determine if the Manual positively influences the industry experience for the student by minimising the time spent on a design and enhance the lecturer’s teaching. It was concluded that The Principles of Graphic Design manual has a positive influence on the employability of the students of the Department of Design and Studio Art at the CUT and that the Manual is pitched at the appropriate level

The New Greece

The New Greece: Historic Site Improvements Since the 2004 Olympics, public slide show and talk by Professor Rebecca H. Sinos. Professor Tina Passman, Jay Bregnan, and Michael Grillo will design projects for the students of ancient history, art and classical languages, to incorporate this talk into their curricula

Baja tasa de infección por COVID-19 en zonas a gran altura

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is an acute infectious disease that spreads mainly via the respiratory route. A distinct coronavirus (SARS-CoV) has been identified as the aetiological agent of SARS. Recently, a metallopeptidase named angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) has been identified as the functional receptor for SARS-CoV. Although ACE2 mRNA is known to be present in virtually all organs, its protein expression is largely unknown. Since identifying the possible route of infection has major implications for understanding the pathogenesis and future treatment strategies for SARS, the present study investigated the localization of ACE2 protein in various human organs (oral and nasal mucosa, nasopharynx, lung, stomach, small intestine, colon, skin, lymph nodes, thymus, bone marrow, spleen, liver, kidney, and brain). The most remarkable finding was the surface expression of ACE2 protein on lung alveolar epithelial cells and enterocytes of the small intestine. Furthermore, ACE2 was present in arterial and venous endothelial cells and arterial smooth muscle cells in all organs studied. In conclusion, ACE2 is abundantly present in humans in the epithelia of the lung and small intestine, which might provide possible routes of entry for the SARS-CoV. This epithelial expression, together with the presence of ACE2 in vascular endothelium, also provides a first step in understanding the pathogenesis of the main SARS disease manifestations. Copyright (C) 2004 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley Sons, Ltd

Os serviços ecossistêmicos dos recursos hídricos da Bacia Amazônica como Bens Públicos Globais

This article analyzes the ecosystem services of water resources in the Amazon basin (water supply, waste processing, climate regulation, nutrient cycle) according to the theoretical scope of global public goods, identifying the spatial extent of ecosystem benefits and their beneficiaries. Four groups of beneficiaries were found: Brazil's trading partner countries that use the mouth of the Amazon River, the South American countries that receive moisture from the Amazon basin through “aerial rivers”; the Atlantic Ocean due to the contributions of sediments and organic matter from the “Amazon Plume” and the countries that integrate the Amazon basin that use water resources for direct consumption or to produce goods and services. Due to spatial dimension of benefits from ecosystem services studied, the Amazon Basin, must be understood as Global Natural Common.Este articulo analiza los servicios ecosistémicos de los recursos hídricos de la cuenca Amazónica (provisión de agua, procesamiento de residuos, regulación del clima, ciclo de nutrientes) conforme el alcance teórico de bienes públicos globales, identificando la extensión espacial de los beneficios ecosistémicos y sus beneficiarios. Cuatro grupos de beneficiarios fueron identificados: Los países socios comerciales de Brasil que usan la desembocadura del rio Amazonas, los países de Suramérica que reciben humedad de los “ríos aéreos” provenientes de la cuenca Amazónica; el Océano Atlántico debido a las contribuciones de sedimentos y materia orgánica de la “Pluma Amazónica”, y los países que integran la cuenca Amazónica que usan los recursos hídricos para consumo directo o para producir bienes y servicios. Debido a la extensión espacial de los beneficios de los servicios ecosistémicos estudiados, la Cuenca Amazónica debe ser entendida como un Global Natural Common.Cet article analise les services écosystémiques des ressources hydriques du bassin amazonien (approvisionnement d'eau, traitement de déchets, régulation du climat, cycle des nutriments). Ceci en accord avec l'approche théorique de biens publics à l'échelle mondiale et identifiant l'extension spatiale des bénéfices écosystémiques ainsi que ses bénéficiaires. Il existe quatre groupes de bénéficiaires identifiés: les pays en partenariat commercial avec le Brésil qui se servent de l'embouchure du fleuve Amazone ; les pays de l'Amérique du Sud qui reçoivent de l'humidité du bassin amazonien à travers ses “rivières volantes”; l'océan Atlantique, dû aux sédiments et matières organiques apportés par l'Amazonie ; et les pays intégrant le bassin amazonique, qui utilisent les ressources hydriques pour leur consommation directe ou encore pour produire de biens et de services. En raison de l'extension spatiale des bénéfices des services écosystémiques nommés ci-dessus, le bassin amazonique doit être considéré comme faisant partie Global Natural Common.Il presente articolo analizza i servizi ecosistemici delle risorse idriche del bacino amazzonico (approvvigionamento d’acqua, trattamento dei rifiuti, regolazione del clima, ciclo dei nutrienti) secondo la teoria dei beni comuni mondiali. Si identifica anche l’estensione spaziale dei benefici ecosistemici e i loro beneficiari. Quattro gruppi di beneficiari sono stati identificati: i paesi “partner commerciali” del Brasile che si servono della foce del Rio delle Amazzoni; i paesi dell’America del Sud che ricevono l’umidità del bacino amazzonico attraverso i fiumi volanti; l’oceano Atlantico (grazie ai contributi di sedimenti e di materia organica dell’Amazzonia); e finalmente i paesi membri del bacino amazzonico che utilizzano le sue risorse idriche sia per il loro consumo diretto sia per produrre beni e servizi. A causa della sua estensione spaziale e dei benefici ecosistemici studiati, il bacino amazzonico dovrebbe essere considerato come parte delle Global Natural Common.Neste artigo analisa-se os serviços ecossistêmicos dos recursos hídricos da Bacia Amazônica (provisão de água, processamento de resíduos, regulação de clima e ciclo de nutrientes), conforme o escopo teórico de bens públicos globais, identificando a extensão espacial dos benefícios ecossistêmicos e seus beneficiários. Quatro grupos de beneficiários foram encontrados: os países parceiros comerciais do Brasil que usam a desembocadura do rio Amazonas; os países da América do Sul que recebem umidade da Bacia Amazônica através dos “rios aéreos”; o oceano Atlântico, devido às contribuições de sedimentos e matéria orgânica da “Pluma Amazônica”; e os países que integram a Bacia Amazônica que usam os recursos hídricos para consumo direto ou para produzir bens e serviços. Devido à extensão espacial dos benefícios dos serviços ecossistêmicos estudados, a Bacia Amazônica deve ser entendida como um Global Natural Common

Comparison of Quality of Internet Pages on Human Papillomavirus Immunization in Italian and in English

Purpose: Information available on the Internet about immunizations may influence parents' perception about human papillomavirus (HPV) immunization and their attitude toward vaccinating their daughters. We hypothesized that the quality of information on HPV available on the Internet may vary with language and with the level of knowledge of parents. To this end we compared the quality of a sample of Web pages in Italian with a sample of Web pages in English. Methods: Five reviewers assessed the quality of Web pages retrieved with popular search engines using criteria adapted from the Good Information Practice Essential Criteria for Vaccine Safety Web Sites recommended by the World Health Organization. Quality of Web pages was assessed in the domains of accessibility, credibility, content, and design. Scores in these domains were compared through nonparametric statistical tests. Results: We retrieved and reviewed 74 Web sites in Italian and 117 in English. Most retrieved Web pages (33.5%) were from private agencies. Median scores were higher in Web pages in English compared with those in Italian in the domain of accessibility (p < .01), credibility (p < .01), and content (p < .01). The highest credibility and content scores were those of Web pages from governmental agencies or universities. Accessibility scores were positively associated with content scores (p < .01) and with credibility scores (p < .01). A total of 16.2% of Web pages in Italian opposed HPV immunization compared with 6.0% of those in English (p < .05). Conclusions: Quality of information and number of Web pages opposing HPV immunization may vary with the Web site language. High-quality Web pages on HPV, especially from public health agencies and universities, should be easily accessible and retrievable with common Web search engines. (C) 2010 Society for Adolescent Medicine. All rights reserved