Communication challenges in social board games

Background: Discussion-based communication scenarios are present in many aspects of life. These can range from conversations with friends in a social setting to formal consultation processes and focus groups used by industry and government. However, reliance on speech does not easily permit the fair and equitable involvement of people who face communication-based accessibility challenges. Aim: This work aimed to understand the communication challenges present within social board games, how these challenges arise, and participants’ perceptions of the difficulties these challenges may cause. Method: We conducted four social gameplay sessions to understand what parts of discussion may cause communication challenges and what techniques are commonplace in overcoming these. Results: Our results highlight how group facilitation and conversation pacing are essential in promoting accessibility within discussion-type situations. Our analysis identified four themes that focused on speech and delivery, access strategies, viewing and position, balance of power, and awareness of others. Conclusions: Communication within board game scenarios is a complex area that creates several intersectional accessibility challenges. These challenges can impact how group communication is facilitated, how pacing and delivery relate to overall group understanding, and how an awareness of accessibility is critical in developing inclusive environments

Power and perception in the scandal in academia.

The Scandal in Academia is a large-scale fictional ethical case study of around 17,000 words and fourteen separate revelations. They are delivered as newspaper extracts from a newspaper reporting on an ongoing crisis at a Scottish educational institution. The scandal case as presented on the ethical issues raised, concentrating instead on providing the scenario in isolation. This paper is a companion piece to that case study, discussing the third and fourth revelations with reference to the issues raised, the mainstream media, and the formal academic literature. The discussion presented here is not intended to be exhaustive or definitive. It is instead educational context, and illustrative of the kind of discussions that ideally emerge from the effective use of the material

Fuzzy ethics: or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bot.

The recent death of a Volkswagen worker at the hand of a factory robot has resulted in a number of editorials and opinion pieces discussing moral responsibility and robots. In this short response piece we outline some of the wider context of this discussion, with reference to the classic ethical study the Case of the Killer Robot. We argue that there is a growing need for the field of computer ethics to consider with some urgency what it means to be a responsible moral agent when tragic events occur, and to what extent it makes sense to 'blame the robot'

Musings on misconduct: a practitioner reflection on the ethical investigation of plagiarism within programming modules.

Tools for algorithmically detecting plagiarism have become very popular, but none of these tools offers an effective and reliable way to identify plagiarism within academic software development. As a result, the identification of plagiarism within programming submissions remains an issue of academic judgment. The number of submissions that come in to a large programming class can frustrate the ability to fully investigate each submission for conformance with academic norms of attribution. It is necessary for academics to investigate misconduct, but time and logistical considerations likely make it difficult, if not impossible, to ensure full coverage of all solutions. In such cases, a subset of submissions may be analyzed, and these are often the submissions that have most readily come to mind as containing suspect elements. In this paper, the authors discuss some of the issues with regards to identifying plagiarism within programming modules, and the ethical issues that these raise. The paper concludes with some personal reflections on how best to deal with the complexities so as to ensure fairer treatment for students and fairer coverage of submissions

The application of ‘just in time’ to reverse logistics: a feasibility study from the UK multiple retail sector

Purpose: The purpose of the research is to assess the operational feasibility of applying just in time (JIT) practices to a UK multiple retailers’ reverse logistics (RL) function for waste packaging materials, whilst also assessing possible benefits which may be derived from such an application. Research Approach: The research adopts an embedded case study approach, which included multiple analyses at different nodes of the retail and distribution operational units within the organisation. Interviews were undertaken which allowed for the creation of a narrative outlining the organisation’s operating environments and RL function dynamics, this was then compared to key JIT success factors. Findings: At the functional level there are a number of attributes within the case organisation which would positively influence the adoption of JIT processes, given their relationship with critical success factors outlined within the literature. It is also observed that where negative relationships do exist, they are mainly attitudinal in nature and thus through process reengineering and appropriate training could be averted. On balance the findings indicate that with minimal restructuring and investment the case organisation would be capable of supporting JIT processes. Possible implications of a successful JIT implementation are also discussed. These suggest that although duplicate movement within the network may occur, there would also be efficiency increases in both forward and reverse operations allowing for significant savings. Practical Impact: A new process model is proposed for the case organisations forward and reverse operations which incorporates JITP elements into the RL function. This creates a new just in time reverse logistics (JITRL) environment where collection activities are removed from forward operations, resulting in possible cost savings for the overall distribution network derived from increased efficiencies and capital expenditure. Originality: The research presented provides a unique and novel approach to the application of JIT systems, not only showing that it is possible in operational contexts, but also that JITRL systems may offer significant benefits beyond this organisation, to distribution networks in operations within a similar environment to that of the case organisation

Do you feel like a hero yet?

Video games have a long tradition of including elements of moral decision making within their ludic and narrative structures. While the success of these endeavours has been mixed, the systems used to express moral choices within a game have grown more popular. However, these morality systems are inherently restricted and limited by ludic and business considerations. Coupled to this is the concept of the magic circle in which games are considered to be morally discontinuous spaces where the normal rules of what actions are and are not permitted are different. Moral choices then become flattened down into mere narrative flavouring rather than a reflection of an individuals ethical makeup. Moral choices within games are thus shallow and lack the ability to truly offer us an opportunity to reflect on the actions we have taken. Rather than offering insight, they instead cheapen and simplify nuanced topics and concepts. However, several games released in the past few years have made an effort to break free of this mould by explicitly externalising moral choices. In this paper we discuss two of these games: Popes 2013 title Papers, Please and Yager Developments 201

Foundations and Frontiers of Physics Education Research 2009

This project is a conference on the Foundations and Frontiers of Physics Education Research, in which established and up-and-coming researchers attend a residential conference to further the work of the field. There are 60 participants, including senior graduate students, research scientists, junior, and tenured faculty. The conference consists of a series of plenary talks by leaders in the community; working groups of participants to address common problems in the field and present recommendations for future work; and targeted sessions in which research topics are explored in detail by participants. Ample free time is also included, allowing for informal discussions and interactions that can lead to future collaborations. Intellectual Merit: By bringing together the leaders of the physics education research community in an intimate setting, the conference promotes more intense discussions and more focused interactions than are possible at other meetings common to the community. Broader Impact: Establishing a more cohesive research community furthers the field of physics education research. Promoting the highest quality postdoctoral researchers and junior faculty strengthens their reputation in the community, supporting the growth of new leaders. Sharing results through plenary and targeted sessions spreads knowledge that advances the field. Finally, working groups answer questions of structural concern to the physics education research community. The results of the working groups are to be published in an American Physical Society Forum on Education newsletter, allowing them to be shared with a much larger audience than attends the meeting

Developing Accessible Services:Understanding Current Knowledge and Areas for Future Support

When creating digital artefacts, it is important to ensure that the product being made is accessible to as much of the population as is possible. Many guidelines and supporting tools exist to assist reaching this goal. However, little is known about developers’ understanding of accessible practice and the methods that are used to implement this.We present findings from an accessibility design workshop that was carried out with a mixture of 197 developers and digital technology students. We discuss perceptions of accessibility, techniques that are used when designing accessible products, and what areas of accessibility development participants believed were important. We show that there are gaps in the knowledge needed to develop accessible products despite the effort to promote accessible design. Our participants are themselves aware of where these gaps are and have suggested a number of areas where tools, techniques and guidance would improve their practice

TTRPG UX: Requirements & Beyond

Tabletop Role Playing Games (TTRPG) allow the player to immerse themselves in a world where anything can happen - within the rules. You can become someone new, fight demons, play out exciting and speculative storylines, all with the help of your party. This ability to place yourself in the life of another person (or ethereal being) resonates with principles of User Experience Design (UX) where usability experts strive to understand the impact their application or interface might have on a hypothetical audience. This paper explores the parallels and potentials of TTRPG within the context of UX and Requirements, its characters, contexts and interactions. We propose creating playable UX worlds with the potential to provide deeper, more insightful output, and make recommendations for the addition of a TTRPG approach to User Experience processes

Systematic review of rehabilitation programmes initiated within 90 days of a transient ischaemic attack or 'minor' stroke: a protocol.

Introduction Transient ischaemic attacks (TIAs) and strokes are highly prevalent conditions. Stroke killed 5.7 million people worldwide in 2005 and is estimated to cause 6.5 million deaths globally in 2015. Stroke survivors are often left with considerable disability. Many strokes are preceded by a TIA/‘minor’ stroke in the previous 90 days and therefore the immediate period after a TIA/minor’ stroke is a crucial time to intervene to tackle known vascular risk factors. Although rehabilitation following a TIA/minor stroke is widely recommended, there is a paucity of research that offers an evidence base on which the development or optimisation of interventions can be based, particularly for home-based approaches and non-pharmacological interventions in the acute period following the initial TIA/‘minor’ stroke. This systematic review will investigate the effect of rehabilitation programmes initiated within 90 days of the diagnosis of a TIA or ‘minor’ stroke aimed at reducing the subsequent risk of stroke. Methods/design This systematic review will be reported in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses(PRISMA) guidance. Randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials of rehabilitation programmes initiated within 90 days of a TIA or ‘minor’ stroke will be included. Articles will be identified through a comprehensive search of the following databases, guided by a medical librarian: the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL and PsycINFO. Two review authors will independently screen articles retrieved from the search for eligibility and extract relevant data on methodological issues. A narrative synthesis will be completed when there is insufficient data to permit a formal meta-analysis. Discussion This review will be of value to clinicians and healthcare professionals working in TIA and stroke services as well as to general practitioners/family physicians who care for these patients in the community and to researchers involved in designing and evaluating rehabilitation interventions