The Immersive Medium: Art, Flow, and Video Games

In this article, the question of whether or not video games could be considered art is explored, as well as what this means for video games as cultural products. Using an interdisciplinary approach, I suggest that there are some games we can consider “art”, and that these games are not only different aesthetically speaking, but are also different from a media-effects standpoint. The article consists of three main sections, an aesthetic review, a content analysis, and a pilot study. In the aesthetic review, I employ different perspectives from aesthetic philosophy in order to come up with criteria for what an “artistic video game” would be like. Next, in the content analysis, I take three critically acclaimed games, Bioshock Infinite, Mass Effect 2, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and apply my criteria to them to see if they fit the bill as “artistic games”. Finally, in my study, I compare these three games to games that did not meet my criteria (such as Angry Birds) in order to see if participants had higher rates of “flow”, in the tradition of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, while playing the artistic games category. Results from the study indicated that artistic games did have higher rates of flow than non-artistic games, which suggests that we rethink why people play video games, and what we should expect from games as cultural products and as media experiences

Agent Red: Fashioning Agency in Margaret Atwood\u27s The Handmaid\u27s Tale

In Margaret Atwood\u27s The Handmaid\u27s Tale, we are introduced to a dystopian patriarchal society named Gilead, where women are relegated to the roles of wife, servant, and surrogate. Although the men of Gilead have built this society with men at the top, the women of the novel show a surprising amount of agency within their own spheres of influence. So the question remains: who is really in control of Gilead? While men are certainly remain the figureheads of power in The Handmaid\u27s Tale, we find that the women of the novel have copious influence within their own realms, but these little freedoms have made them complacent, and immune to the plights of their fellow women

Effect of mycorrhizal inoculum and urea fertilizer on diseases development and yield of groundnut crops (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Diseases (rosette virus disease (RVD), Cercospora leaf spot (CLS) and poverty of soils in nutrients are the main causes of groundnut losses (>60%). Among the methods applied in disease management, thebiological method is identified as a priority in crop protection research programs. This study was carried out during the 2001 growing season in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The aim was to characterize the development of RVD and CLS on A-26 groundnut variety and also to evaluate yield after mycorrhizal inoculation. A randomized block design with four replicates was used, with two applications of mycorrhizal inoculum. The inoculum contained spores of Glomus sp. and Gigaspora sp. inconcentration of 2.103 spores.g-¹. A urea treatment and an absolute control were also used. The number of nodules per plant, the root colonization rate (RCR), disease severity and yield were assessed.Results show that RCR was very low in control and urea plots compared to mycorrhizal inoculated plots. Mycorrhizal applications reduced disease infection up to 38.8 and 54.4% respectively, for RVDand CLS. However, plants issued from urea treatment were more stressed and infected. A higher number of nodules (459.1) were recorded on roots of mycorrhizal inoculated plants compared to controland urea treatments which were 218.8 and 237.5 nodules per plant. Mycorrhization of groundnut plants led to a yield increased of up to 628% for dry pods of healthy plants compared to uninoculated plants incontrol samples. No yield was recorded on infected plants from control and urea treatments, whereas plants infected by RVD and inoculated with mycorrhiza yielded 177.2 Kg.ha-1 of dry pods. The mainsresults of this study show that mycorrhizal symbiosis with groundnut roots increased the resistance of plants to RVD and CLS, and positively influenced the physiology of groundnut plants infected by RVD

Eyelash Epilation in the Absence of Trichiasis: Results of a Population-Based Prevalence Survey in the Western Division of Fiji

Background: The WHO definition of trachomatous trichiasis (TT) is “at least one eyelash touching the globe, or evidence of recent epilation of in-turned eyelashes”, reflecting the fact that epilation is used as a self-management tool for TT. In Fiji’s Western Division, a high TT prevalence (8.7% in those aged ≥15 years) was reported in a 2012 survey, yet a 2013 survey found no TT and Fijian ophthalmologists rarely see TT cases. Local anecdote suggests that eyelash epilation is a common behaviour, even in the absence of trichiasis. Epilators may have been identified as TT cases in previous surveys.Methods: We used a preliminary focus group to design an interview questionnaire, and subsequently conducted a population-based prevalence survey to estimate the prevalence of epilation in the absence of trichiasis, and factors associated with this behaviour, in the Western Division of Fiji.Results: We sampled 695 individuals aged ≥15 years from a total of 457 households in 23 villages. 125 participants (18%) reported epilating their eyelashes at least once within the past year. Photographs were obtained of the eyes of 121/125 (97%) individuals who epilated, and subsequent analysis by an experienced trachoma grader found no cases of trachomatous conjunctival scarring or trichiasis. The age- and sex- adjusted prevalence of epilation in those aged ≥15 years was 8.6% (95% CI 5.7–11.3%). iTaukei ethnicity, female gender, and a higher frequency of drinking kava root were independently associated with epilation.Conclusion: Epilation occurs in this population in the absence of trichiasis, with sufficient frequency to have markedly inflated previous estimates of local TT prevalence. Individuals with epilated eyelashes should be confirmed as having epilated in-turned eyelashes in an eye with scarring of the conjunctiva before being counted as cases of TT.</br