‘You feel like you've found a place where you belong’: Symbolic Interactionism and Online Social Video Games in the Age of COVID-19

This paper investigates how players perceive and understand the sociality afforded by online social video games (OSGs), framed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilising data from semi-structured interviews (n=20), we apply Blumer’s (1998) concept of symbolic interactionism to explore the ways in which video games take on new meanings in co-constructed, collaborative and contributory digital spaces. We argue 1) that games offer a meaningful social experience, 2) that this sociality flourishes due to the perceived lack of social risk particularly due to OSGs characteristics of perceived or real anonymity, 3) that this works to facilitate social development, and 4) that these characteristics were valuable in the context of a pandemic at a time of reduced social interaction. Our contribution shows that online video game spaces alter the risk profile of forming and maintaining connections by reframing interaction as the cooperation towards shared goals

Improving the Computational Thinking Pedagogical Capabilities of School Teachers

The idea of computational thinking as skills and universal competence which every child should possess emerged last decade and has been gaining traction ever since. This raises a number of questions, including how to integrate computational thinking into the curriculum, whether teachers have computational thinking pedagogical capabilities to teach children, and the important professional development and training areas for teachers. The aim of this paper is to address the strategic issues by illustrating a series of computational thinking workshops for Foundation to Year 8 teachers held at an Australian university. Data indicated that teachers\u27 computational thinking understanding, pedagogical capabilities, technological know-how and confidence can be improved in a relatively short period of time through targeted professional learning

Vibrational Spectroscopy of Selected Natural Uranyl Vanadates

Raman spectroscopy has been used to study a selection of uranyl vanadate minerals including carnotite, curienite, francevillite, tyuyamunite and metatyuyamunite. The minerals are characterised by an intense band in the 800 to 824 cm-1 region, assigned to the ν1 symmetric stretching vibrations of the (UO2)2+ units. A second intense band is observed in the 965 to 985 cm-1 range and is attributed to the ν1 (VO3) symmetric stretching vibrations in the (V2O8) units. This band is split with a second component observed at around 963 cm-1. A band of very low intensity is observed around 948 cm-1 and is assigned to the ν3 antisymmetric stretching vibrations of the (VO3) units. Bands in the range 608-655 cm-1 may be attributed to molecular water librational modes or the stretching modes ￮(V2O2) units. Bands in the range 573-583 cm-1 may be connected with the ￮ (U-Oequatorial) vibrations or ￮ (V2O2) units. Bands located in the range 467-539 cm-1 may be also attributed to the ￮ (U-Oequatorial) units vibrations. The bending modes of the (VO3) units are observed in the 463 to 480 cm-1 range – there may be some coincidence with ￮ (U-Oequatorial). The bending modes of the (V2O2) in the (V2O8) units are located in a series of bands around 407, 365 and 347 cm-1 (ν2). Two intense bands are observed in the 304 to 312 cm-1 range and 241 to 264 cm-1 range and are assigned to the doubly degenerate ν2 modes of the (UO2)2+ units. The study of the vibrational spectroscopy of uranyl vanadates is complicated by the overlap of bands from the (VO3) and (UO2)2+ units. Raman spectroscopy has proven most useful in assigning bands to these two units since Raman bands are sharp and well separated as compared with infrared bands. The uranyl vanadate minerals are often found as crystals on a host matrix and Raman spectroscopy enables their in-situ characterisation without sample preparation

‘I wasn’t me, grieving in my room. I was Spiderman’: Gaming, Loss and Self-Care following COVID-19

Building on Stroebe and Schut’s (1999) ‘dual process model’ (DPM), this paper draws on data from a survey of young people who identify as regular gamers (n=450) and semi-structured follow-up interviews (n=20) to understand video games as a form of self-care, and the positive and problematic encounters gamers experience in relation to immersion and escapism. The work is situated in relation to game/leisure studies, and extant research on different types of loss (bereavement; social opportunities; employment). We argue that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, self-reported responses to play function as a form of oscillation between ‘loss’ and ‘restoration’ in the DPM, and that the act of play and its post-hoc rationalization is a crucial form of coping for young people, and an opportunity for meaning-making whilst grieving. Our contribution is to demonstrate how video games can and should be considered as a catalyst for grief management

Personal, Pedagogic Play: A Dialogic Model for Video Game Learning

Utilizing data from semi-structured interviews (n=20), this paper explores the educational function of internationally popular, blockbuster videogames, including the ways in which players identify and operationalize these learning experiences. It proposes a framework through which different learning experiences in mainstream, culturally significant games can be categorized, utilizing dialogic learning approaches - drawn from Alexander’s (2020) application of Bakhtin (2002) - to position players in constant dialogue with the games that they play: a co-constructive pedagogy of videogames. We find that, in the context of popular videogames, implicit learning is relevant, present, and valuable alongside than explicit alternatives. Our contribution is to offer a reimagined dialogic typology which can help players, educators, caregivers and games scholars identify, utilise and research digital play-learning

Implementation study of SARS-CoV-2 antigen lateral flow tests in men's professional (Premiership) rugby union sports squads in England during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study evaluated the validity and utility of antigen-detection rapid diagnostic tests (Ag-RDTs) for SARS-CoV-2 in elite sports. The data on utility, ease of use and application for Ag-RDTs as a new testing format were positive from players and staff. This evaluation was limited by the low prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 circulating within the three squads. This study highlights the need for continued service evaluations for SARS-CoV-2 Ag-RDTs in elite sport settings. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Miscellany

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