Professional gaming and work: Challenges, trajectories, and labour market impacts amongst professional gamers

Over the last decade the popularity of video games has risen tremendously. A new industry around professional gaming has emerged alongside this growth in the popularity of video games. In professional gaming, individuals play video games competitively while their matches and games are streamed online to a global audience. As a result of the growth in the sector, compensation for some individuals has reached well into six and seven figures. Knowledge of these salaries has resulted in an influx of individuals interested in working in professional gaming. This study investigates not only those individuals who play video games professionally, but also those who work in the periphery and infrastructure of the gaming industry. This dissertation critically investigates work in the professional gaming industry drawing on qualitative interview data. Two primary questions are asked: What is the nature of work in professional gaming? What are the experiences of individuals who pursue careers and work in this industry? This exploratory research utilizes thirty-four semi-structured interviews with individuals involved in the professional gaming industry. The participants describe a range of challenges, difficulties, and issues they experience both transitioning into and working in this industry. The results suggest that work in professional gaming is rife with exploitation, precarity, and non-standard work arrangements. Pursuing a career in this industry is difficult, and participants often lack social support during their transition from playing video games as leisure to being employed in professional gaming. This lack of social support is not determinative and the participants often accessed their social capital in other ways in order to succeed. Financial difficulties, geographic challenges, and issues with discrimination and sexism were faced by the participants working in this industry. The present study provides important recommendations for future research. Overall, the study sheds new light on the nature of work in this industry – work that many dismiss as simply leisure – revealing tensions, contradictions, and inequalities within it

Self-Healing, Inflatable, Rigidizable Shelter

An inflatable, rigidizable shelter system was developed based on Rigi dization on Command (ROC) technology incorporating not only the requ ired low-stowage volume and lightweight character achieved from an i nflatable/rigidizable system, but also a self-healing foam system inc orporated between the rigidizable layers of the final structure to m inimize the damage caused by any punctures to the structure

Panel Discussion: Expropriation, Threats of Expropriation and Developmental Policy

This panel discussion is a conversation about the place of expropriation in international law

Using Fludarabine to Reduce Exposure to Alkylating Agents in Children with Sickle Cell Disease Receiving Busulfan, Cyclophosphamide, and Antithymocyte Globulin Transplant Conditioning: Results of a Dose De-Escalation Trial

AbstractHigh-dose busulfan, cyclophosphamide, and antithymocyte globulin (BU-CY-ATG) is the most commonly used conditioning regimen in HLA-matched related hematopoietic cell transplantation for children with sickle cell disease. Disease-free survival with this regimen is now approximately 95%; however, it produces significant morbidity. We hypothesized we could create a less toxic regimen by adding fludarabine (FLU) to BU-CY-ATG and reduce the dosages of busulfan and cyclophosphamide. We conducted a multicenter dose de-escalation trial with the objective of decreasing the doses of busulfan and cyclophosphamide by 50% and 55%, respectively. Using day +28 donor-predominant chimerism as a surrogate endpoint for sustained engraftment, we completed the first 2 of 4 planned levels, enrolling 6 patients at each and reducing the total dose of cyclophosphamide from 200 mg/kg to 90 mg/kg. On the third level, which involved a reduction of i.v. busulfan from 12.8 mg/kg to 9.6 mg/kg, the first 2 patients had host-predominant T cell chimerism, which triggered trial-stopping rules. All 14 patients survive disease-free. No patients suffered severe regimen-related toxicity. Our results suggest BU-FLU-CY-ATG using lower dose CY could be a less toxic yet effective regimen. Further evaluation of this regimen in a full-scale clinical trial is warranted

Reputation in European Trade Mark Law: A Re-examination

Under the harmonised European trade mark regime marks with a reputation enjoy expanded protection. This article casts doubt on whether this ‘reputational trigger’ can be justified. It then explores some difficult operational questions about the way the reputation threshold works in cases where the mark enjoys fame only in niche markets or in a limited geographical area, the aim being to illustrate further why reputation is an unsatisfactory trigger for a different type of trade mark protection. Finally, it looks at some of the evidential difficulties involved in adjudicating disputes in which expanded protection is being claimed. It concludes by suggesting that if the evidential problems we identify were tackled the reputation threshold could be abandoned

Pulse shape analysis of signals from BaF2 and CeF3 scintillators for neutron capture experiments

The scope of this work is to study the characteristics of BaF2 and CeF3 signals using fast digitizers, which allow the sampling of the signal at very high frequencies and the application of the fitting method for analysis of the recorded pulses. By this procedure particle identification and the reconstruction of pile-up events can be improved, while maintaining the energy and time-of-flight resolution as compared to traditional methods. The reliability of the technique and problems connected with data acquisition are discussed with respect to accurate measurements of neutron capture cross-sections

Plasma Biomarker Concentrations Associated With Return to Sport Following Sport-Related Concussion in Collegiate Athletes—A Concussion Assessment, Research, and Education (CARE) Consortium Study

Importance: Identifying plasma biomarkers associated with the amount of time an athlete may need before they return to sport (RTS) following a sport-related concussion (SRC) is important because it may help to improve the health and safety of athletes. Objective: To examine whether plasma biomarkers can differentiate collegiate athletes who RTS in less than 14 days or 14 days or more following SRC. Design, Setting, and Participants: This multicenter prospective diagnostic study, conducted by the National Collegiate Athletics Association–Department of Defense Concussion Assessment, Research, and Education Consortium, included 127 male and female athletes who had sustained an SRC while enrolled at 6 Concussion Assessment, Research, and Education Consortium Advanced Research Core sites as well as 2 partial–Advanced Research Core military service academies. Data were collected between February 2015 and May 2018. Athletes with SRC completed clinical testing and blood collection at preseason (baseline), postinjury (0-21 hours), 24 to 48 hours postinjury, time of symptom resolution, and 7 days after unrestricted RTS. Main Outcomes and Measures: A total of 3 plasma biomarkers (ie, total tau protein, glial fibrillary acidic protein [GFAP], and neurofilament light chain protein [Nf-L]) were measured using an ultrasensitive single molecule array technology and were included in the final analysis. RTS was examined between athletes who took less than 14 days vs those who took 14 days or more to RTS following SRC. Linear mixed models were used to identify significant interactions between period by RTS group. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were conducted to examine whether these plasma biomarkers could discriminate between RTS groups. Results: The 127 participants had a mean (SD) age of 18.9 (1.3) years, and 97 (76.4%) were men; 65 (51.2%) took less than 14 days to RTS, and 62 (48.8%) took 14 days or more to RTS. Linear mixed models identified significant associations for both mean (SE) plasma total tau (24-48 hours postinjury, <14 days RTS vs ≥14 days RTS: −0.65 [0.12] pg/mL vs −0.14 [0.14] pg/mL; P = .008) and GFAP (postinjury, 14 days RTS vs ≥14 days RTS: 4.72 [0.12] pg/mL vs 4.39 [0.11] pg/mL; P = .04). Total tau at the time of symptom resolution had acceptable discrimination power (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.63-0.86; P < .001). We also examined a combined plasma biomarker panel that incorporated Nf-L, GFAP, and total tau at each period to discriminate RTS groups. Although the analyses did reach significance at each time period when combined, results indicated that they were poor at distinguishing the groups (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, <0.7). Conclusions and Relevance: The findings of this study suggest that measures of total tau and GFAP may identify athletes who will require more time to RTS. However, further research is needed to improve our ability to determine recovery following an SRC.This publication was made possible with support from the Grand Alliance Concussion Assessment, Research, and Education (CARE) Consortium, funded, in part by the NCAA and the Department of Defense. The US Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, 820 Chandler St, Ft Detrick, MD 21702, is the awarding and administering acquisition office. This work was supported by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs through the Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Program under award No. W81XWH-14-2-0151

Using Fludarabine to Reduce Exposure to Alkylating Agents in Children with Sickle Cell Disease Receiving Busulfan, Cyclophosphamide, and Antithymocyte Globulin Transplant Conditioning: Results of a Dose De-Escalation Trial

AbstractHigh-dose busulfan, cyclophosphamide, and antithymocyte globulin (BU-CY-ATG) is the most commonly used conditioning regimen in HLA-matched related hematopoietic cell transplantation for children with sickle cell disease. Disease-free survival with this regimen is now approximately 95%; however, it produces significant morbidity. We hypothesized we could create a less toxic regimen by adding fludarabine (FLU) to BU-CY-ATG and reduce the dosages of busulfan and cyclophosphamide. We conducted a multicenter dose de-escalation trial with the objective of decreasing the doses of busulfan and cyclophosphamide by 50% and 55%, respectively. Using day +28 donor-predominant chimerism as a surrogate endpoint for sustained engraftment, we completed the first 2 of 4 planned levels, enrolling 6 patients at each and reducing the total dose of cyclophosphamide from 200 mg/kg to 90 mg/kg. On the third level, which involved a reduction of i.v. busulfan from 12.8 mg/kg to 9.6 mg/kg, the first 2 patients had host-predominant T cell chimerism, which triggered trial-stopping rules. All 14 patients survive disease-free. No patients suffered severe regimen-related toxicity. Our results suggest BU-FLU-CY-ATG using lower dose CY could be a less toxic yet effective regimen. Further evaluation of this regimen in a full-scale clinical trial is warranted