370 research outputs found
The value chain in the Asian online gaming industry: a case study of Taiwan
This research examines the changing nature of the Asian online gaming
industry and the position of Taiwan in the regional market. The evidence used was gathered through fieldwork conducted in Taiwan, Beijing and Shanghai from January to October in 2007.
Firstly, it explores the situation from the perspective of political economy in
order to understand the process of commodification, including production, marketing and distribution. The research establishes that the game industry operates within a highly competitive market requiring substantial investments. Since game production requires complex technological skills, there is a high capital cost, and the process is very time consuming. Today's online gaining business has segmented into different sectors with varying roles, i.e. developer, publisher, distributor and operator, controlled by different players in the business. The research shows that Asian game firms seek vertical synergies by expanding complex collaborative networks of
production, marketing and operation in order to minimize costs and maximize
profits. This implies that an international value chain has been established within the regional economy due to that the capacity of modern East Asian cities to accelerate the integration of the online gaming industry into regional economic activity.
Secondly, online gaming overall is a popular form of interactive
entertainment in the intra-Asian market. The key theories used to understand digital games are debated between narratology and ludology. However, neither is capable
of providing an explanation for the Asian gaming culture. On further examination, certain types of game genres, 'wuxia' and 'cute' games, are found to have a
particular appeal for Asian users. The wuxia genre is exclusively circulated in the greater Chinese cultural arena. The 'cute' game originates from the protagonists and themes of Japanese video games. This genre is well accepted by Asian users living in urban environments, and has become a force to unite city gainers in different Asian countries.
Lastly, the thesis explores the unique position of Taiwan's game industry,
which has been transformed from a test-bed for games aimed at the Chinese market into an intermediary between China and the rest of the world. Before 2002, Taiwan was regarded as a springboard for foreign firms wishing to enter the big Chinese market. Now, China's game industry has emerged and Chinese games have been
exported to other Asian countries. Currently Taiwan is the biggest export market. The sophisticated features of the Taiwanese market mean that it can act as a stepping stone for Chinese game firms wishing to expand into wider regional and global
markets
WMAP constraint on the P-term inflationary model
In light of WMAP results, we examine the observational constraint on the
P-term inflation. With the tunable parameter , P-term inflation contains
richer physics than D-term and F-term inflationary models. We find the
logarithmic derivative spectral index with on large scales and on
small scales in agreement to observation. We obtained a reasonable range for
the choice of the gauge coupling constant in order to meet the requirements
of WMAP observation and the expected number of the e-foldings. Although tuning
and we can have larger values for the logarithmic derivative of the
spectral index, it is not possible to satisfy all observational requirements
for both, the spectral index and its logarithmic derivative at the same time.Comment: 6 pages, double column, 13 figures included. Version appearing in the
Physical Review
Complement in reproductive white adipose tissue characterizes the obese preeclamptic-like BPH/5 mouse prior to and during pregnancy
© 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Preeclampsia (PE) is a serious hypertensive disorder of pregnancy characterized by abnormal placental development with an unknown etiology. To better understand which women will develop PE, a number of maternal risk factors have been identified, including obesity. Visceral white adipose tissue (WAT) contains inflammatory mediators that may contribute to PE. To explore this, we utilized the blood pressure high (BPH)/5 mouse model of superimposed PE that spontaneously recapitulates the maternal PE syndrome. We hypothesized that BPH/5 visceralWAT adjacent to the female reproductive tract (reproductiveWAT) is a source of complement factors that contribute to the inflammatory milieu and angiogenic imbalance at the maternal-fetal interface in this model and in preeclamptic women. To test our hypothesis, we calorie-restricted BPH/5 females for two weeks prior to pregnancy and the first seven days of pregnancy, which attenuated complement component 3 (C3) but not complement factor B, nor complement factor D, (adipsin) in the reproductiveWAT or the implantation site in BPH/5. Furthermore, calorie restriction during pregnancy restored vascular endothelial and placental growth factor mRNA levels in the BPH/5 implantation site. These data show maternal reproductive WAT may be a source of increased C3 during pregnancy, which is increased at the maternal-fetal interface in preeclamptic BPH/5 mice. It also suggests that calorie restriction could regulate inflammatory mediators thought to contribute to placental dysfunction in PE. Future studies are necessary to examine the e_ect of calorie restriction on C3 throughout pregnancy and the role of maternal obesity in PE
Preliminary Characterisation of Low-Temperature Bonded Copper Interconnects for 3-D Integrated Circuits
Three dimensional (3-D) integrated circuits can be fabricated by bonding previously processed device layers using metal-metal bonds that also serve as layer-to-layer interconnects. Bonded copper interconnects test structures were created by thermocompression bonding and the bond toughness was measured using the four-point test. The effects of bonding temperature, physical bonding and failure mechanisms were investigated. The surface effects on copper surface due to pre-bond clean (with glacial acetic acid) were also looked into. A maximum average bond toughness of approximately 35 J/m² was obtained bonding temperature 300 C.Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA
Search for the Rare Decays J/Psi --> Ds- e+ nu_e, J/Psi --> D- e+ nu_e, and J/Psi --> D0bar e+ e-
We report on a search for the decays J/Psi --> Ds- e+ nu_e + c.c., J/Psi -->
D- e+ nu_e + c.c., and J/Psi --> D0bar e+ e- + c.c. in a sample of 5.8 * 10^7
J/Psi events collected with the BESII detector at the BEPC. No excess of signal
above background is observed, and 90% confidence level upper limits on the
branching fractions are set: B(J/Psi --> Ds- e+ nu_e + c.c.)<4.8*10^-5, B(J/Psi
--> D- e+ nu_e + c.c.) D0bar e+ e- + c.c.)<1.1*10^-5Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Direct Measurements of the Branching Fractions for and and Determinations of the Form Factors and
The absolute branching fractions for the decays and
are determined using singly
tagged sample from the data collected around 3.773 GeV with the
BES-II detector at the BEPC. In the system recoiling against the singly tagged
meson, events for and events for decays are observed. Those yield
the absolute branching fractions to be and . The
vector form factors are determined to be
and . The ratio of the two form
factors is measured to be .Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
Observation of the decay \psip\rar\kstark
Using 14 million events collected with the BESII detector,
branching fractions of \psip\rar\kstarkpm and \kstarknn are determined to
be: \calB(\psip\rar\kstarkpm)=(2.9^{+1.3}_{-1.7}\pm0.4)\times 10^{-5} and
\calB(\psip\rar\kstarknn)=(13.3^{+2.4}_{-2.7}\pm1.9)\times 10^{-5}. The
results confirm the violation of the "12%" rule for these two decay channels
with higher precision. A large isospin violation between the charged and
neutral modes is observed.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Study of J/psi decays to Lambda Lambdabar and Sigma0 Sigma0bar
The branching ratios and Angular distributions for J/psi decays to Lambda
Lambdabar and Sigma0 Sigma0bar are measured using BESII 58 million J/psi.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
Measurements of J/psi Decays into 2(pi+pi-)eta and 3(pi+pi-)eta
Based on a sample of 5.8X 10^7 J/psi events taken with the BESII detector,
the branching fractions of J/psi--> 2(pi+pi-)eta and J/psi-->3(pi+pi-)eta are
measured for the first time to be (2.26+-0.08+-0.27)X10^{-3} and
(7.24+-0.96+-1.11)X10^{-4}, respectively.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure
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