Optimizing Player and Viewer Amusement in Suspense Video Games

Broadcast video games need to provide amusement to both players and audience. To achieve this, one of the most consumed genres is suspense, due to the psychological effects it has on both roles. Suspense is typically achieved in video games by controlling the amount of delivered information about the location of the threat. However, previous research suggests that players need more frequent information to reach similar amusement than viewers, even at the cost of jeopardizing viewers' engagement. In order to obtain models that maximize amusement for both interactive and passive audiences, we conducted an experiment in which a group of subjects played a suspenseful video game while another group watched it remotely. The subjects were asked to report their perceived suspense and amusement, and the data were used to obtain regression models for two common strategies to evoke suspense in video games: by alerting when the threat is approaching and by random circumstantial indications about the location of the threat. The results suggest that the optimal level is reached through randomly providing the minimal amount of information that still allows players to counteract the threat.We reckon that these results can be applied to a broad narrative media, beyond interactive games

Quantitative Characteristics of Human-Written Short Stories as a Metric for Automated Storytelling

Evaluating the extent to which computer-produced stories are structured like human-invented narratives can be an important component of the quality of a story plot. In this paper, we report on an empirical experiment in which human subjects have invented short plots in a constrained scenario. The stories were annotated according to features commonly found in existing automatic story generators. The annotation was designed to measure the proportion and relations of story components that should be used in automatic computational systems for matching human behaviour. Results suggest that there are relatively common patterns that can be used as input data for identifying similarity to human-invented stories in automatic storytelling systems. The found patterns are in line with narratological models, and the results provide numerical quantification and layout of story components. The proposed method of story analysis is tested over two additional sources, the ROCStories corpus and stories generated by automated storytellers, to illustrate the valuable insights that may be derived from them

El Programa Artemisa de la NASA y proyectos privados de exploración espacial tripulada

La Administración Nacional de Aeronáutica y del Espacio de los Estados Unidos (NASA), se encuentra desarrollando el proyecto Artemisa, que consiste en el retorno a nuestro satélite natural, más de medio siglo después que las misiones Apolo completaran la primera serie de exploraciones tripulada en la luna. Este nuevo proyecto, compromete a la agencia espacial norteamericana y a un conjunto de países asociados, en establecer un programa de exploración lunar extendida, a partir de 2024, hasta el 2030, el cual incluirá el desarrollo de infraestructura permanente que incluirá bases, vehículos de exploración, sistemas de actividad extravehicular y especialmente, instrumentos de prospección para localizar y extraer agua del cráter Shackleton en el polo sur lunar. Asimismo, varias empresas privadas, entre las que se encuentran SpaceX y Blue Origin, están revolucionando los sistemas de transporte espacial, con el desarrollo de vehículos reutilizables, que han reducido drásticamente los costos de la puesta en órbita de cargas útiles espaciales, lo cual da sustento a los planes de la NASA para un desarrollo continuado del espacio más allá de la órbita baja terrestre, y con el objetivo posterior de la exploración tripulada del planeta Marte.Sección: Ingeniería Mecánica, Aeronáutica y NavalAcademia de la Ingeniería de la provincia de Buenos Aire

Strategy and Standards in Remote Handling for Fusion Energy from TECHNOFUSION

The authors discuss the importance of the TECHNOFUSIÓN facility from the standpoint of Remote Handling and its special features with regard to the other laboratories. This arises to the interest of developing a long-term integrated approach, which covers research, training, exploitation and dissemination of results. Standardization activity is also closely related to long-term strategy. It is shown the actual situation of standardization in Remote Handling for the nuclear industry and the evolution that is currently taking place in this field.Peer Reviewe

Integrated planetary outpost simulation to assess crew psychophysiological response as a first approach to a Lunar/Mars Manned base settlement

One of the most effective and complex concepts in planetary settlement is the integration of interfaces such as habitat modules, rover vehicles and space suits that can connect via airlocks, suitports and tunnels, and can disconnect to operate independently. This scenario is ideal to assess common symptoms during spaceflight missions such as fatigue, sleep loss, circadian desynchronization and work overload, This paper describes the main features of an integrated system built at the Human Spaceflight Laboratory from the Department of Space Studies at the University of North Dakota and a series of feasible measurements that can be conducted there to assess psychophysiological responses of a crew during confinement. This approach may contribute in the analysis of environmental mission conditions that interfere with sleep quality and individual vulnerabilities associated to sleep loss and circadian desynchronization.Fil: Van Broock, Lynn. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina "Santa María de los Buenos Aires". Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; ArgentinaFil: de León, Pablo. University North Dakota; Estados UnidosFil: Vigo, Daniel Eduardo. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina "Santa María de los Buenos Aires". Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas; Argentin

Nacionalidad y extranjería en el Uruguay. Un estudio normopolítico.

Abstract. The study consists of an analysis of the national regulations in terms of nationality,citizenship and foreignness at the constitutional, legal and regulatory levels, based on a triple vision: historical, legislative-political and legal. This article gives an answer to the several legislative changes regarding this issue carried out during the last century. For this reason, it analyzes the different regulations in their corresponding hierarchy and time. The study comprises three parts preceded by an introduction. The first part refers to nationality and citizenship (the different types and ways of acquiring the same, loss and suspension). It offers an overview of the national doctrine with respect to the issue, and its relation with the applicable regulations and principles of international law. The second part, regarding foreignness, considers the historical regimes of the 19th and 20th centuries, with respect to the entry and non admission of foreigners. The third part is aimed at the current immigration system (Act no 18250) and it considers the regulation from the formal and material point of view (general principles, application framework, rights and obligations of foreigners, immigration categories, entry, exit and expulsion, competent organizations in terms of immigration and their functions, as well as immigration offences). The third part sets out the final considerations.Resumen. El estudio consiste en un análisis de la normativa nacional en materia denacionalidad, ciudadanía y extranjería en los niveles constitucional, legal y reglamentario,sobre la base de una triple visión: histórica, político-legislativa y jurídica. Buscaofrecer una respuesta a los diversos cambios legislativos operados en la materia en elúltimo siglo. Se analizan, por tanto, las diversas normas, en sus respectivas jerarquíasy tiempos. El estudio consta de tres partes, precedidas de una introducción. La primeraparte se refiere a la nacionalidad y la ciudadanía (sus tipos y formas de adquisición,pérdida y suspensión). Se ofrece un panorama de la doctrina nacional en la materia,y su relación con las normas y principios del derecho internacional aplicables. La segundaparte es relativa a la extranjería, y se consideran los regímenes históricos en elsiglo XIX y XX, en lo relativo a la entrada y la inadmisibilidad de los extranjeros. La terceraparte está dedicada al régimen migratorio actual (ley n.o 18250), y considera la normatanto formal como materialmente (principios generales, ámbito de aplicación, derechosy obligaciones de los extranjeras, categorías migratorias, ingreso, salida y expulsión,organismos competentes en materia migratoria y sus atribuciones, así como los delitosmigratorios). Por último, la parte tercera ofrece las consideraciones, finales

Focus groups: sistematización de prácticas y calidad

El artículo describe el surgimiento y la evolución de la técnica de investigación habitualmente conocida como focus group. Destaca su inserción y su singular participación en la tradición cualitativa, así como sus rasgos diferenciales respecto a otras técnicas cualitativas. Refiere las aplicaciones más frecuentes de los focus groups y analiza sus fortalezas y debilidades relativas. Plantea los principales consensos y discrepancias entre autores relevantes en el tema, respecto a las características fundamentales de la utilización de la técnica, así como pasa revista a algunas posibles variaciones y tendencias. Finalmente, profundiza en la posibilidad de controlar la calidad de aplicación de la técnica. En tal sentido, se propone optimizar el rigor metodológico a través de diversos procedimientos organizados en cuatro categorías de requisitos: credibilidad, transferibilidad, constancia interna y neutralidad

IDENTIDADES, ACTITUDES Y ESTEREOTIPOS NACIONALES Y SUPRANACIONALES EN UNA MUESTRA URUGUAYA

This work aims to study the way people in a Uruguayan sample identify with regions, nations and supranations; attitudes and stereotypes were measured with respect to national groups and supranational groups. This brings proof about people identifications, likes and stereotypes of: ingroup favoritism, contact and familiarity, similarity, prototipicity and attitude asymmetry. Both the results and instruments are discussed.El objetivo de este trabajo es estudiar las identificaciones con los ámbitos regionales, nacional y supranacionales; las actitudes y los estereotipos respecto a grupos nacionales y supranacionales en una muestra uruguaya. Se comprueba la capacidad explicativa sobre identificaciones, simpatías y estereotipos de: favoritismo endogrupal, contacto y familiaridad, similitud, prototipicidad y asimetría actitudinal. Se discuten los resultados así como el instrumento utilizado

A joint multi-path and multi-channel protocol for traffic routing in smart grid neighborhood area networks

In order to improve the management mechanisms of the electric energy transport infrastructures, the smart grid networks have associated data networks that are responsible for transporting the necessary information between the different elements of the electricity network and the control center. Besides, they make possible a more efficient use of this type of energy. Part of these data networks is comprised of the Neighborhood Area Networks (NANs), which are responsible for interconnecting the different smart meters and other possible devices present at the consumers' premises with the control center. Among the proposed network technologies for NANs, wireless technologies are becoming more relevant due to their flexibility and increasing available bandwidth. In this paper, some general modifications are proposed for the routing protocol of the wireless multi-hop mesh networks standardized by the IEEE. In particular, the possibility of using multiple paths and transmission channels at the same time, depending on the quality of service needs of the different network traffic, is added. The proposed modifications have been implemented in the ns-3 simulator and evaluated in situations of high traffic load. Simulation results show improvements in the network performance in terms of packet delivery ratio, throughput and network transit time.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version