What's in the box? Exploring UK players' experiences of loot boxes in games; the conceptualisation and parallels with gambling.

Loot boxes are a popular mechanic within many video games, but it remains unclear if some forms of loot boxes can be seen of as gambling. However, the perspectives of players are often neglected, such as whether they see them as 'fair' game elements and how closely they feel this aligns with gambling. In this paper, we synthesise a conceptualisation for loot boxes through players' actual experience and explore if there are any parallels with gambling. Twenty-one participants who played video games took part in the research through either an interview or online survey. Thematic analysis suggested that six themes were core to exploring loot boxes: Random Chance Effects, Attitudes Towards Content, Implementation, Parallels with Gambling, Game Design, and The Player. The results suggested both indirect and direct parallels with gambling from the players experiences. Implications of game design and classifying loot boxes as gambling are discussed in relation to game design and risk factors of gambling and purchasing behaviour

1986 Update of Agronomic and Animal Performance of Different Tall Fescue Varieties

The objective of the tall fescue breeding program at the University of Kentucky is the development of varieties characterized by superior nutritive value (including reduced levels of perloline and loline alkaloids), minimal infestation of the fungal endophyte, Acremonium coenophialum), higher palatability, improved disease resistance, and wider adaptation through the derivation of intergeneric and interspecific hybrids of ryegrass and tall fescue species. Kentucky 31, Kenwell, and Kenhy were varieties released from this breeding program. Johnstone tall fescue, developed cooperatively by the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station and USDA-ARS, is the most recently released variety. It is characterized as having low levels of perloline alkaloid and the fungal endophyte (Acremonium coenophialum) and improved forage quality during summer. Ample Johnstone seed should be available to meet demand during 1986

Susceptibility to Peer Pressure, Self-Esteem, and Health Locus of Control as Correlates of Adolescent Substance Abuse

As part of a school-based alcohol misuse prevention study, questionnaires were ad ministered to 2,589 fifth and sixth grade students to determine levels of use of alcohol, marijuana, and cigarettes, intentions to use these substances, and problems resulting from alcohol misuse. The questionnaire also included 45 items concerning susceptibil ity to peer pressure, self-esteem, and health locus of control. These 45 items were factor analyzed separately for two groups formed by random assignment. Six factors were identified which were both internally consistent and replicable, and indices were constructed. The indices measuring susceptibility to peer pressure, self-esteem, and internal health locus of control were significantly and negatively correlated with most of the substance use, misuse, and intention items, and an external health locus of con trol index was not significantly related to most of the substance use, misuse, and inten tion items. The "Susceptibility to Peer Pressure" index correlated more highly with the adolescent substance use, misuse, and intention items than the self-esteem or the health locus of control indices, and it had the highest alpha coefficient. Implications for the design of school-based substance abuse prevention programs are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68065/2/10.1177_109019818701400207.pd

Transparency in persuasive technology, immersive technology, and online marketing: facilitating users’ informed decision making and practical implications

In the current age of emerging technologies and big data, transparency has become an important issue for technology users and online consumers. However, there is a lack of consensus on what constitutes transparency across domains of research, not to mention transparency guidelines for designers and marketers. In this review, we explored the question of what transparency means in current research and practices by reviewing the literature in three domains: persuasive technology, immersive technology and online marketing. Literature reviewed, including both empirical research and position articles, covered multidisciplinary areas including computer science and information technology, psychology, healthcare, human computer interaction, business and management, law and public health. In this paper, we summarized our findings through a framework of transparency and provided insights into the different aspects of transparency, categorized into ten themes (i.e., Organizational Transparency, Information Transparency, Transparency of System Design, Data Privacy and Informed Consent, Transparency of Online Advertising, Potential Risks, User Autonomy, Informed Decision Making, Information Visualization, Personalization and User-centered design) along three dimensions (i.e., Types of transparency, Impact on User and Potential Solutions). Addressing aspects of transparency will facilitate users’ autonomy and contribute to their informed decision making

The effects of inbreeding on disease susceptibility:Gyrodactylus turnbulli infection of guppies, Poecilia reticulata

Inbreeding can threaten population persistence by reducing disease resistance through the accelerated loss of gene diversity (i.e. heterozygosity). Such inbreeding depression can affect many different fitness-related traits, including survival, reproductive success, and parasite susceptibility. Empirically quantifying the effects of inbreeding on parasite resistance is therefore important for ex-situ conservation of vertebrates. The present study evaluates the disease susceptibility of individuals bred under three different breeding regimes (inbred, crossed with full siblings; control, randomly crossed mating; and fully outbred). Specifically, we examined the relationship between inbreeding coefficient (F-coefficient) and susceptibility to Gyrodactylus turnbulli infection in a live bearing vertebrate, the guppy Poecilia reticulata. Host-breeding regime significantly affected the trajectories of parasite population growth on individual fish. Inbred fish showed significantly higher mean parasite intensity than fish from the control and outbred breeding regimes, and in addition, inbred fish were slower in purging their gyrodactylid infections. We discuss the role of inbreeding on the various arms of the immune system, and argue that the increased disease susceptibility of inbred individuals could contribute to the extinction vortex. This is one of the first studies to quantify the effects of inbreeding and breeding regime on disease susceptibility in a captive bred vertebrate of wild origin, and it highlights the risks faced by small (captive-bred) populations when exposed to their native parasites

Transparency in Persuasive Technology, Immersive Technology and Online Marketing: A Narrative Review. EROGamb 2 Narrative Review

In the current age of emerging technologies and big data, transparency has become an important issue in online marketing for not only consumers’ online privacy but also their impression of trustworthiness, integrity and good conduct (Seizov and Wulf, 2020; DiStaso and Bortree, 2012; Rawlins, 2008). However, there is a lack of consensus on what constitutes or relates to transparency across domains of research, not to mention clear guidelines to achieve transparency for designers and marketers. The main aim of this review is to examine the transparency-related aspects, either elements and mechanisms or issues and risks, implemented or discussed in the fields of persuasive technology, immersive technology and online marketing. In this multidisciplinary narrative review, we explored the question of what transparency means in current research and practices by reviewing the existing literature in the three fields. Whilst the focus is on the above mentioned fields, the knowledge synthesised from this review is transferrable to a range of contexts relating to communication of information in the digital world. Literature searches were conducted in Web of Science. Two experienced reviewers independently screened titles and abstracts. For potentially eligible studies, one reviewer read the full texts. To be included, the article had to be relevant to transparency and within the field of persuasive technology, immersive technology or online marketing. Transparency could appear in various forms, given the lack of definition and discussion of transparency in literature. Relevance to transparency was evaluated based on the elements, mechanism or current practices implemented or discussed in the literature regarding the lack or support of transparency. Through this narrative review, we provide insights into the different aspects of transparency involved in persuasive technology, immersive technology and online marketing. Addressing these aspects will facilitate the users’ or consumers’ freedom and autonomy and thus contribute to their informed decision making. In summary, transparency in persuasive technology involves transparency of persuasive design and techniques, transparency of potential risks and user autonomy, and informed decision making and dark patterns of design. Similarly, transparency in immersive technology involves transparency of potential risks, transparency of system and user control, and using immersive technology as a tool for enhancing information transparency and informed decision making. Transparency in online marketing comprises organisational transparency, information transparency, transparency of data privacy and informed consent, and transparency of online advertising and social media. We summarised the recommendations based on this review to guide the design and practice of transparency. In future, more efforts should be focused on ensuring users’ awareness and understanding regarding the persuasive nature and intention in persuasive technology, and the computing process where possible, and these efforts involvesimproving related regulation and policy, raising awareness of the relationship between transparency and trustworthiness, and improving the design of information disclosure. Transparency also involves the notion that new technologies should be designed and developed to support human-computer collaboration and reciprocity. Also, visualisation could support transparency of recommendations by providing users with the rationale behind suggested items. User consent should be achieved prior to a data collection process, including the purpose of data collection, what data is collected, and how the data is stored, anonymised and removed. Information should also be made transparent regarding the potential impact or risks of the technology, including how it may interfere with users’ activities and restrict their autonomy. Benefits and risks of the technology should be given equal value in consent forms to be presented to users. the potential solution to improving transparency involves a human-centred, personalised approach to the design of new technologies. The good practices for transparency of persuasive and immersiv

Transparency in Responsible Gambling: A Systematic Review. EROGamb 2 Systematic Review

Persuasive, immersive and attention-grabbing elements of technology and personalised marketing content are widely embedded in interactive online marketing to engage and persuade usersto engage in more online interaction and transactions. This has the potential to pose a risk of excessive and obsessive use of technology, leading to behavioural addiction. Similarly, Internet gambling enables 24/7 accessibility, personalised and persuasive elements for marketing purposes, the capability of immersive and rewarding betting experience, enhanced privacy to facilitate perceived escape from the real world, and ease of transactions, which may potentially create an environment where individuals are more likely to chase losses and lose control. Evidence suggests Internet gambling is associated with higher risk of problematic gambling and gambling-related harm compared to landbased gambling (Effertz et al., 2018; Kairouz et al., 2012; Papineau et al., 2018; Wu et al., 2014). Gambling operators and governments have developed and implemented programs and policies (e.g., age restriction policy, deposit limit tools, self-exclusion programs) designed to promote Responsible Gambling (RG) and minimise gambling-related harm. Responsible and safer gambling is naturally associated with transparency. Transparency, as defined in this review, involves providing a customer with explicit information about chance of winning as well as other types of information that is shared by gambling operators. At the heart of RG efforts is informed decision making. The principle is to help individuals make informed choice by providing them with transparency in games and promotion materials. However, there is a distinct lack of consensus on what transparency should involve in RG practices, and no prior research has aimed at reviewing transparency in RG practices systematically. Informed by our narrative review of transparency in persuasive technology, immersive technology and online marketing (Wang et al., 2021) all of which are closely associated with the online gambling world, we advocate that RG-driven transparency involves multiple aspects such as user autonomy, system explainability and transparency in advertising. We consider transparency and explainability (or accountability) as an indivisible whole that promotes RG by facilitating communication and understanding of information for individuals to make informed choices. In the present research, we conducted a systematic review of literature in the RG domain using narrative synthesis to examine evidence relating to transparency in current RG practices in the gambling industry. This review did not intend to examine the effectiveness of specific RG tools or strategies or provide prescriptive legislative and corporate guidelines; instead, we focused on the fundamental aspects of transparency that should be considered and practised by industry for the benefit of individuals who gamble. In this review, we found that transparency issues have rarely been explored. Using sources from database searching, handsearching and grey literature, we included all types of articles (i.e., qualitative studies, quantitative studies, literature review, and position articles) in this review. Most empirical studies were focused on effectiveness of a specific RG tool or intervention; most review or position articles did not directly explore transparency issues or only involved specific aspects of transparency; and no systematic or non-systematic reviews of transparency in RG practices were found. Through this review, we conceptualised RG-driven transparency by categorising it into seven themes involved in or implied by the existing literature for a better understanding of what constitutes RGdriven transparency in games and promotion materials. These themes are Transparency of Information and Education for Safer Gambling (including fairness of games and gamblers’ fallacy, potential risks and negative consequences, safer gambling cognition and behaviour, boundary between gaming and gambling), Transparency of RG Tools (including availability and accessibility of RG tools, effectiveness of RG tools, personalisation of RG strategies), Transparency of Data-driven Approaches and Persuasive Technologies (including purposes and benefits of using personal data, data usage and privacy protection, individual autonomy, algorithmic transparency, trade-off determination), Transparency in Advertising, Transparency of Corporate Social Responsibility and Individual Responsibility (including division of responsibility, gambling policy and staff training, CSR reporting and assessment), Transparency of Research Evidence and Funding Sources, and Design Considerations for Improving Transparency. We provided stakeholders (including gambling operators, regulators, researchers and individuals who gamble) with a checklist of recommendations for best practices in RG-driven transparency according to this review. In practice, all stakeholders should collaborate to facilitate individuals to make informed choices and achieve the objectives of responsible and safer gambling, as improving transparency requires effort from multiple parties. For example, using online gambling behaviour data for the purpose of promoting safer gambling and minimising gambling-related harm is highly promising. In order to provide interpretable information about models and algorithms used for individuals who will be affected or benefit from them, the gambling industry needs transparency and explainability of these models and algorithms from professionals and researchers in the first place. Professionals from multidisciplinary backgrounds such as Psychology, Computer science and HCI should collaborate to design the online RG information, RG tools and interventions in a way that can facilitate long-term sustainable positive behaviour change. Persuasive technologies to benefit users’ positive, heathy behaviour change are usually designed and implemented in a short time period, however, both iterative design methods and longitudinal studies are necessary to ensure such technologies with the intervention strategies are supported by psychological theories and empirical studies to have actual benefits with minimised risks such as privacy issues and behavioural addiction. Future research is required to empirically validate the checklist of recommendations for improving RG-driven transparency and to address the trade-off issues related to transparency (e.g., how to balance transparency with user experience requirements or the good intent of persuasive technologies and RG interventions). Furthermore, more practicalities and detailed guidelines for gambling operators on how to embed RG-driven transparency into games and promotion materials are required with efforts from multiple stakeholders in future

EROGamb 2 Scoping Review. Literature Scope: Online Responsible Gambling

This scoping review aims to examine the range and extent of available research relating to online gambling and responsible gambling, and to identify whether it is necessary to undertake a full systematic review in this area. Utilising bibliometric data analysis with the software tool VOSviewer (van Eck and Waltman, 2010), this scoping review explores themes associated with online gambling and responsible gambling in two well-established databases: Scopus and Web of Science. Several main fields of research are identified (i.e., Gambling issues and Studies, Clinical Psychology) and numerous key terms are extracted (i.e., gambling behaviour, gambling-related harms, policy and responsible gambling tools) from the bibliometric analysis. Based on the findings of this scoping review and the absence of terms relating to transparency practices in online responsible gambling, there is a need to conduct a full systematic literature review. This literature review will aim to establish what constitutes best practices in responsible gambling driven transparency in games and promotional material