Our Combative Past and Co-operative Future: Review of The Play Versus Story Divide in Game Studies: Critical Essays

A review of Wilhelm Kapell’s The Play Versus Story Divide tackling the major themes of its contributions, praising its approach and unique papers while addressing a few minor shortcomings

Manheim Auctions

Manheim Auctions, the world\u27s largest auction house, recently developed Manheim Online (MOL) to sell program cars (cars that have been leased or hired) in response to the Japanese company AUCNET\u27s efforts to penetrate the US car auction business. This Internet-based electronic sales system has tremendous potential to change the car auction business. There are over 80,000 used car dealers in the US and Manheim auctions some 6 million cars each year. Trying to leverage its knowledge of the automobile market to provide services to its customers, Manheim developed two other products, Manheim Market Report and AutoConnect. It is also expanding its auction business in Europe. Manheim wants to continue to add value to Manheim Online as a way of discouraging competition and of extending sales through the Internet without cannibalizing Manheim\u27s core business

Breathing Re-Education and Phenotypes of Sleep Apnea: a Review

Four phenotypes of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) have been identified. Only one of these is anatomical. As such, anatomically based treatments for OSAHS may not fully resolve the condition. Equally, compliance and uptake of gold-standard treatments is inadequate. This has led to interest in novel therapies that provide the basis for personalized treatment protocols. This review examines each of the four phenotypes of OSAHS and explores how these could be targeted using breathing re-education from three dimensions of functional breathing: biochemical, biomechanical and resonant frequency. Breathing re-education and myofunctional therapy may be helpful for patients across all four phenotypes of OSAHS. More research is urgently needed to investigate the therapeutic benefits of restoring nasal breathing and functional breathing patterns across all three dimensions in order to provide a treatment approach that is tailored to the individual patient

WWW Home Page Assignments in MIS Courses

The WWW provides a large increase in options available to telecom course instructors. One option is to require that students create home pages on the Web. Each student can be assigned a home page that includes personal information. Or, teams can be assigned. In either case, students will have hands-onexperience with a classic client/server (C/S) application. But, in the case of the WWW, the name client/telecom/servers, or C/T/S, is more accurate. Having such a C/T/S assignment, however, requires instruction on the component material. These requirements lead to the conclusion such assignments are easiest to do in telecom course

Role of gender, smoking profile, hypertension, and diabetes on saphenous vein and internal mammary artery endothelial relaxation in patients with coronary artery bypass grafting

The aim of this study was to investigate if there was a link between the relaxant responses in saphenous vein (SV) and internal mammary artery (IMA) segments obtained from patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting and the patients' cardiovascular risk factors. Endothelium-(in)dependent relaxations were assessed by isometric tension studies. Endothelium-dependent relaxant responses were greater in IMA than SV and gender, smoking profile and history of hypertension but not diabetes appeared to have an influence on these responses. Endothelium-dependent relaxant responses in both IMA and SV were greater in males than females and relaxant responses in IMA segments were attenuated in smokers, whereas the opposite effect was noted in SV segments. Endothelium-dependent relaxant responses in SV were lower in patients with hypertension. Endothelium-independent relaxant responses were greater in IMA than SV. Endothelium-independent responses were greater in male patients' SV segments, but gender played no role in IMA segments. Diabetes had no effect on endothelium-independent responses in IMA, but SV segments from diabetic patients had greater responses. Neither conduit's endothelium-independent response was affected by hypertensive status. The relationship between risk factor status and endothelial responses is multifactorial, with gender, hypertension, diabetes and smoking status all contributing

Reading the fantastic : the narrative fiction of Barbey d'Aurevilly

Although Barbey's handling of the Fantastic has certainly not been overlooked, studies tend to examine this subject from a conceptual or thematic perspective. This has left unexplored the relationship between the Fantastic and Barbey's way of writing; this study aims to fill that gap by offering a stylistic analysis of the Fantastic. The thesis approaches the question by first attempting to define how the Fantastic works, and concludes by proposing the principle of a dynamic flux between writing of the real and the unreal. From this premise, the study of Barbey's Fantastic questions first the presence of realist discourse in the texts, and offers a critique of the traditional view which suggests that Barbey borrows from nineteenth-century realist orthodoxy. In its place, a broader form of mimesis is proposed. Following this, the thesis examines how Barbey's fiction works at counterpoint to the mimetic code, undermining and destabilising the illusion of vraisemblance. In so doing, the peculiarities of narrative technique are promoted as germane to the voicing of textual doubt. Then, Barbey's rhetoric is considered, offering a reading of how verbal exorbitance weakens the relationship with the signified. After this, Barbey's attempts to re-write differences are examined, a trend which provokes a crisis in the differential foundations of human understanding. The thesis concludes by examining how these principles work within the nouvelle Léa. This discussion indicates how the Fantastic demands to be read as a whole textual entity and not as a sporadic mode, and suggests that it is only in endless and unchecked interpretation- reading- that the meaning of the Fantastic is to be grasped

US Protestant natalist reception of Old Testament “fruitful verses”: a critique

The advocacy of a high birth rate is an ideology called natalism. In the USA since 1985 some Protestants have used Old Testament verses to support natalist arguments. This thesis argues that natalism is inappropriate as a Christian application of Scripture, especially since rich nations’ populations’ total footprint is detrimental to biodiversity and to poor nations’ welfare. The methodology is analysis of natalist writings, investigation of possible historical roots, and then evaluation of natalist interpretation from three perspectives: the ancient Near Eastern OT context, patristic Christian tradition, and contemporary ecological concerns. The analysis and historical investigation consists of two chapters. Chapter 2 considers wider natalism, modern secular and religious varieties, and the cultural context of US Evangelicalism. Through textual analysis of biblical reception in recent natalist writings, it identifies the verses cited and common interpretative arguments. Chapter 3 asks whether this natalism has roots in historic Protestantism. It investigates the claim made by some natalist advocates that Martin Luther in the 16th century expounded similar ideas about fecundity. The evaluation consists of three chapters. Chapter 4 explores the ancient Near Eastern cultural context, and Old Testament ideas about fecundity’s role in God’s project of salvation. Ventures by biblical scholars into contemporary application of the verses in question are critiqued. Chapter 5 considers Augustine’s comments on human fruitfulness in the Bible and his thinking on fecundity. Using ressourcement from this representative of patristic tradition, Augustine’s reception is compared with natalism. Chapter 6 explains an ecological hermeneutic which brings biblical and classic Christian biblical reception into conversation with contemporary concerns. My reception of the verses uses a hermeneutic lens derived from Genesis 1, and gives priority to the contextual issues of biodiversity and the un/sustainability of the ecological footprints of overpopulated rich nations. The thesis is the first to offer systematic analysis of natalist biblical reception, and focuses on the neglected majority of natalists which accepts family planning. It highlights exegetical arguments which are then compared with Luther’s writings, tested against plausible meanings of the fruitful verses, and tested against Augustine and patristic tradition. Previous research on ecologically responsible interpretation of these verses and on Christian thinking about human fecundity and overpopulation is updated and extended

First hint for CP violation in neutrino oscillations from upcoming superbeam and reactor experiments

We compare the physics potential of the upcoming neutrino oscillation experiments Daya Bay, Double Chooz, NOvA, RENO, and T2K based on their anticipated nominal luminosities and schedules. After discussing the sensitivity to theta_{13} and the leading atmospheric parameters, we demonstrate that leptonic CP violation will hardly be measurable without upgrades of the T2K and NOvA proton drivers, even if theta_{13} is large. In the presence of the proton drivers, the fast track to hints for CP violation requires communication between the T2K and NOvA collaborations in terms of a mutual synchronization of their neutrino-antineutrino run plans. Even in that case, upgrades will only discover CP violation in a relatively small part of the parameter space at the 3 sigma confidence level, while 90% confidence level hints will most likely be obtained. Therefore, we conclude that a new facility will be required if the goal is to obtain a significant result with high probability.Comment: 27 pages, 12 figure

May the odds be ever in your favor: The Hunger Games and the fight for a more equal society. (Negative) Media vicarious contact and collective action

Various studies have found that reading books about positive interactions between ingroup and outgroup characters, known as media vicarious contact, can reduce prejudice. Focusing on the fantasy saga of The Hunger Games, we examined the effects of negative vicarious contact on collective action across two studies. Specifically, we tested whether reading about fantasy characters living in a postapocalyptic conflictual society with large social disparities between advantaged and disadvantaged groups leads advantaged group members to display greater willingness to engage in collective action on behalf of the disadvantaged group. Results from Study 1 (correlational survey in the United Kingdom and United States) and Study 2 (experimental intervention in Italy) revealed that reading The Hunger Games is indirectly associated with greater collective action intentions via increased anger toward injustice. In both studies social dominance orientation (SDO) acted as a moderator, but in opposite directions: mediation was significant for low-SDOs in Study 1, and for high-SDOs in Study 2. Results are discussed in relation to the importance of media vicarious contact via book reading for social change, and to the need to identify the contextual conditions allowing to anticipate the specific moderation pattern that is more likely to emerge