Oasistan: an intercultural role-playing simulation game to recognize cultural dimensions

Aim. Although cultural dimensions theory is a topical strand of quantitative cultural research, few intercultural simulation games use it. We present the design and review of the application of OASISTAN, an intercultural role-playing simulation game that is specifically based on cultural dimensions theory. Method. OASISTAN was first designed in 1999 for use in Master’s courses on cross-cultural management at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, attracting 20-23 year old students with a Bachelor degree in engineering and from various cultural backgrounds. Since its first design the game has been played approximately 45 times at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and three times at Harbin Institute of Technology in China in the years 2006-2008. We reviewed their experiences designing and facilitating OASISTAN since 1999. Results. The game has a no-tech role-play design and revolves around the geopolitically complex region of the Caspian Sea, specifically the fictional country of ‘Oasistan’. The game consists of students forming small teams of Oasistani, Western and non-Western public/private actors collaborating with each other to try and reach the common goal of oil exploration and production in this country. In total 15-30 students were involved. We found that OASISTAN allowed its players not only to intensely experience the difficulty and awkwardness of being confronted with cultural differences, but also to interpret and understand these differences through cultural dimensions. Students who played OASISTAN identified ten out of the 12 dimensions by Maleki and De Jong. The two dimensions that students were not able to identify are uncertainty avoidance and collaborativeness. Conclusion. OASISTAN shows how a game design field (i.e., intercultural simulation gaming) can be reinvigorated in light of new or updated scientific theories pertaining to the field’s subject matter (i.e., cultural dimensions). Several opportunities for future research are identified

Digital Twins of the ocean : autogenerated 3D environments for validating offshore wind farm operations.

Within the context of the Iliad project, the authors present technical challenges and the first results of having valid 3D scenes of (non-)existing offshore wind farms procedurally and automatically generated within either the Unreal or Unity game engine. The Iliad – Digital Twins of the Ocean project (EU Horizon 2020) aims to develop a ‘system of systems’ for creating cutting-edge digital twins of specific sea and ocean areas for diverse purposes related to their sustainable use and protection. One of the Iliad pilots addresses the topic of offshore floating wind farm construction or maintenance scenario testing and validation using the Unity 3D game engine. This work will speed up the development of these scenarios by procedurally and automatically creating the Unity 3D scene rather than manually (which is done at present). The main technical challenges concern the data-driven approach, in which a JSON configuration file drives the scene creation. The first results show a base wind farm running in Unreal 5.1. The final product will be able to handle environmental conditions, biological conditions, and specific human activities as input parameters

Prenatal attachment in pregnancy following assisted reproductive technology:a literature review

Objective: To summarise the literature on prenatal attachment in pregnancies following Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). Background: Prenatal attachment can predict the quality of the postpartum parent–infant relationship and is linked to perinatal mental health of the parents and their adjustment to the parental role. It might be expected prenatal attachment will be influenced by fertility treatment such as ART, but there are contradictory results. Methods: In this review, studies with a cross-sectional and longitudinal design, published in 1990–2019 were included. A search was conducted in MEDLINE/PubMed, EMbase, Web of Science and Scopus, and using the Google Scholar search engine. A total of 17 articles were found which met the inclusion criteria and after these articles were reviewed using the STROBE-checklist, 15 articles were included in the study. Results: In most couples who conceived following ART, the level of prenatal attachment was either similar to or higher than in couples who conceive without ART. Conclusions: The findings challenge the idea that infertility problems affect attachment in pregnancies following ART. However, ART- couples may be more susceptible to anxiety due to pregnancy loss and support may be better focused on the pregnancy-related anxiety in these couples rather than any attachment intervention

Digital Twins of the ocean : autogenerated 3D environments for validating offshore wind farm operations.

Within the context of the Iliad project, the authors present technical challenges and the first results of having valid 3D scenes of (non-)existing offshore wind farms procedurally and automatically generated within either the Unreal or Unity game engine. The Iliad – Digital Twins of the Ocean project (EU Horizon 2020) aims to develop a ‘system of systems’ for creating cutting-edge digital twins of specific sea and ocean areas for diverse purposes related to their sustainable use and protection. One of the Iliad pilots addresses the topic of offshore floating wind farm construction or maintenance scenario testing and validation using the Unity 3D game engine. This work will speed up the development of these scenarios by procedurally and automatically creating the Unity 3D scene rather than manually (which is done at present). The main technical challenges concern the data-driven approach, in which a JSON configuration file drives the scene creation. The first results show a base wind farm running in Unreal 5.1. The final product will be able to handle environmental conditions, biological conditions, and specific human activities as input parameters

Recurrent neural networks for hydrodynamic imaging using a 2D-sensitive artificial lateral line

The lateral line is a mechanosensory organ found in fish and amphibians that allows them to sense and act on their near-field hydrodynamic environment. We present a 2D-sensitive Artificial lateral line (ALL) comprising eight all-optical flow sensors, which we use to measure hydrodynamic velocity profiles along the sensor array in response to a moving object in its vicinity. We then use the measured velocity profiles to reconstruct the objects location, via two types of neural networks: feed-forward and recurrent. Several implementations of feed-forward neural networks for ALL source localisation exist, while recurrent neural networks may be more appropriate for this task. The performance of a recurrent neural network (the Long Short-Term Memory, LSTM) is compared to that of a feed-forward neural network (the Online-Sequential Extreme Learning Machine, OS-ELM) via localizing a 6 cm sphere moving at 13 cm/s. Results show that, in a 62 cm × 9.5 cm area of interest, the LSTM outperforms the OS-ELM with an average localisation error of 0.72 cm compared to 4.27 cm respectively. Furthermore, the recurrent network is relatively less affected by noise, indicating that recurrent connections can be beneficial for hydrodynamic object localisation

Gamification of the work floor: A literature review of gamifying production and logistics operations

We review the current body of academic literature concerning gamification of production and logistics. The findings indicate that production execution and control has been addressed most often in the current body of literature, which consists mostly of design research. Objectives and goals, points, achievements, multimedial feedback, metaphorical/fictional representations, and levels and progress are currently most often employed gamification affordances on this field. The research has focused on examining or considering motivation, enjoyment and flow as the main psychological outcomes of gamification in the given context, while individual performance and efficiency are the most commonly examined or suggested behavioral/organizational impacts. Future studies should employ more rigorous study designs and firmly ground the discussions in organization theory

Unexpected questions in deception detection interviews:Does question order matter?

Purpose. Unexpected questions have been shown to increase cues to deception, without reducing the information given by truth tellers. Two studies investigated whether the detail given by an interviewee is affected by whether the expected or unexpected questions are asked first. Methods. In Study 1, participants (N = 85) were interviewed about their own intentions, and in Study 2, participants (N = 84) were given an intention by the experimenter. They were then interviewed. Results. Results showed that in both studies, differences between the expected-first and the unexpected-first order were minimal and lie detection accuracy was not improved by asking the unexpected questions first. Conclusions. These results offer important information for forensic interviewers, showing that there is no need to ask unexpected questions at a certain point in the interview. Link to associated OSF page: https://osf.io/93g7h/?view_only=586daff060d 846efb760c8155478ce9e

The aetiology of post-traumatic stress following childbirth: a meta-analysis and theoretical framework

There is evidence that 3.17% of women report posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after childbirth. This meta-analysis synthesizes research on vulnerability and risk factors for birth-related PTSD and refines a diathesis-stress model of its etiology. Systematic searches were carried out on PsychInfo, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science using PTSD terms crossed with childbirth terms. Studies were included if they reported primary research that examined factors associated with birth-related PTSD measured at least one month after birth. 50 studies (N=21,429) from 15 countries fulfilled inclusion criteria. Pre-birth vulnerability factors most strongly associated with PTSD were depression in pregnancy (.51), fear of childbirth (.41), poor health or complications in pregnancy (r = .38), and a history of PTSD (.39) and counselling (.32). Risk factors in birth most strongly associated with PTSD were negative subjective birth experiences (.59), having an operative birth (assisted vaginal or caesarean, .48), lack of support (-.38), and dissociation (.32). After birth, PTSD was associated with poor coping and stress (.30), and was highly comorbid with depression (.60). Moderator analyses showed that the effect of poor health or complications in pregnancy was more apparent in high-risk samples. The results of this meta-analysis are used to update a diathesis-stress model of the etiology of postpartum PTSD and can be used to inform screening, prevention and intervention in maternity care

A shipping simulation through pathfinding: SEL within the MSP Challenge simulation platform

The authors present the design of the shipping simulation SEL and its integration in the MSP Challenge Simulation Platform. This platform is designed to give policymakers and planners insight into the complexity of Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) and can be used for interactive planning support. It uses advanced game technology to link real geo- and marine data with simulations for ecology, energy and shipping. The shipping sector is an important economic sector with influential stakeholders. SEL calculates the (future) impact of MSP decisions on shipping routes. This is dynamically shown in key performance indicators (e.g. route efficiencies) and visualised in heat maps of ship traffic. SEL uses a heuristic-based graph-searching algorithm to find paths from one port to another during each simulated month. The performance of SEL was tested for three sea basins: the firth of Clyde, Scotland (smallest), North Sea (with limited data) and Baltic Sea regions (largest, with most complete data). The behaviour of the model is stable and valid. SEL takes between 4 and 17 seconds to generate the desired monthly output. Experiences in 20 sessions with 302 planners, stakeholders and students indicate that SEL is a valuable addition to MSP Challenge, and thereby to MSP