The behavioural impact of a visually represented virtual assistant in a selfservice checkout context

Our research investigated whether the presence of an interface agent - or virtual assistant (VA) - in a self-service checkout context has behavioural effects on the transaction process during particular tasks. While many participants claimed to have not noticed a VA within the self-service interface, behaviour was still affected, i.e. fewer people made errors with the VA present than in the voice-only and control conditions. The results are explained as reflective of an unconscious observation of non-verbal cues exhibited by the VA. The results are discussed in relation to possible behavioural outcomes of VA presence.</p

Honesty, social presence, and self-service in retail

Retail self-service checkouts (SCOs) can benefit consumers and retailers, providing control and autonomy to shoppers independent from staff. Recent research indicates that the lack of presence of staff may provide the opportunity for consumers to behave dishonestly. This study examined whether a social presence in the form of visual, humanlike SCO interface agents had an effect on dishonest user behaviour. Using a simulated SCO scenario, participants experienced various dilemmas in which they could financially benefit themselves undeservedly. We hypothesised that a humanlike social presence integrated within the checkout screen would receive more attention and result in fewer instances of dishonesty compared to a less humanlike agent. Our hypotheses were partially supported by the results. We conclude that companies adopting self-service technology may consider the implementation of social presence to support ethical consumer behaviour, but that more research is required to explore the mixed findings in the current study

The Effect of Hypermobility on the Incidence of Injury in Professional Football: A multi-site cohort study

Background: A recent study demonstrated joint hypermobility increased the incidence of injury in an elite football team utilising a univariate statistical model. Objectives: To compare injury incidence between hypermobile and non-hypermobile elite football players incorporating a multi-site design and multivariate inferential statistics. Methods: 80 players comprising 3 English Championship football teams were followed prospectively during the 2012-2013 season. Joint hypermobility was assessed according to the 9-point Beighton Criteria at the start of the study period. A cut-off score of ≥4 categorised a participant as hypermobile. Player exposure and time-loss injuries were recorded throughout. Results: Mean ± standard deviation incidence of injuries was 9.2 ± 10.8 injuries/1000h. The prevalence of hypermobility was 8.8%. Hypermobiles had a tendency for higher injury incidence (mean [95% confidence interval] difference, 5.2 [0.9-2.7] injuries/1000 h; p = 0.06). Cox regression analyses found training exposure to be highly significant in terms of injury risk (p < 0.001) for all participants. Non-hypermobiles had a lower injury risk (p = 0.11), according to the Cox model, which is suggestive but not conclusive that hypermobility predisposes injury risk. Conclusions Hypermobility showed a trend towards increased risk of injury. Training exposure is a significant injury risk factor in elite football

Negative index fishnet with nanopillars formed by direct nano-imprint lithography

In this paper we demonstrate the ability to fabricate fishnets by nanoimprinting directly into a pre-deposited three layer metal–dielectric–metal stack, enabling us to pattern large areas in two minutes. We have designed and fabricated two different fishnet structures of varying dimensions using this method and measured their resonant wavelengths in the near-infrared at 1.45 μm and 1.88 μm. An important by-product of directly imprinting into the metal–dielectric stack, without separation from the substrate, is the formation of rectangular nanopillars that sit within the rectangular apertures between the fishnet slabs. Simulations complement our measurements and suggest a negative refractive index real part with a magnitude of 1.6. Further simulations suggest that if the fishnet were to be detached from the supporting substrate a refractive index real part of 5 and FOM of 2.74 could be obtained

Broken hearts

Broken Hearts is a prototype platform-based game with some RPG (role-playing game) elements focussed on providing romance fraud education.Romance fraud is a form of social engineering whereby a scammer leads victims to believe they are in a trusting romantic relationship before requesting financial aid. Victims are often left emotionally and financially devastated. Law enforcement and dating platforms frequently run campaigns about romance fraud, explaining how to spot potential scammers; this information is often text-based and is not particularly engaging. The Broken Hearts prototype is an interactive application which seeks to educate the general public about romance fraud, its consequences, and how victims can get support.Thus, Broken Hearts is a piece of exploratory work which considers how serious games can be used to educate the public about romance fraud

Virtual assistants and social cues:retail interactions and consumer experience

This paper describes a multi-disciplinary approach toinforming the design of a Virtual Assistant (VA) for use ina self-service checkout (SSCO). SSCO transactions requirehigh levels of attention as people attempt to performmultiple tasks in the shortest possible time. This is ofteneffortful, affecting performance and satisfaction. One proposed solution is a VA to help guide users’ attention torelevant areas. This paper discusses three key positiveoutcomes to cueing attention with a VA. It also highlightsthe advantage of adopting a multi-disciplinary perspectiveto providing solutions to business problems in a modernretail context

Tainted love:a systematic literature review of online romance scam research

Romance scams involve cybercriminals engineering a romantic relationship on online dating platforms for monetary gain. It is a cruel form of cybercrime whereby victims are left heartbroken, often facing financial ruin. We characterize the literary landscape on romance scams, advancing the understanding of researchers and practitioners by systematically reviewing and synthesizing contemporary qualitative and quantitative evidence. The systematic review establishes influencing factors of victimhood and explores countermeasures for mitigating romance scams. We searched 10 scholarly databases and websites using terms related to romance scams. The methodology followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines: a total of 279 papers were screened. One hundred seven papers were assessed for eligibility, and 53 were included in the final analysis. Three main contributions were identified: common profile features and techniques used by romance scammers, countermeasures for mitigating romance scams and factors predisposing an individual to become a scammer or a victim. Despite a growing corpus of literature, the total number of empirical or experimental examinations remained limited. The paper concludes with avenues for future research and victimhood intervention strategies for practitioners, law enforcement and the industry

Author\u27s Guide for University of Nebraska Experiment Station Publications

Publication of findings of the Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station staff is an important part of the work the Station is doing for Nebraska. Since staff members usually are researchers first and authors by necessity, they often seek assistance in preparing their findings for publication. This manual presents a concise guide for publication preparation

Straight to the heart of the matter:towards effective means of combatting romance fraud

Romance fraud has rapidly increased over the past decade and has become one of the most devastating forms of fraud around. By impersonating a victim's 'true love’, scammers can exploit victims’ trust and money, leaving victims emotionally and financially ruined. This devious and exploitative cybercrime merits a strong response to prevent the risk of, and damage resulting from, romance fraud. Consequently, many approaches have been taken to deter and disrupt the effectiveness of scammers, ranging from easily distributable awareness campaigns to bespoke victim support groups. Such approaches demonstrate promising results in some areas; however, they are not without their limitations. Awareness campaigns can only be effective if users retain the message. Meanwhile, victim support groups can only attempt to lessen the emotional impact for victims and prevent them from being further defrauded. Existing approaches overlook a key area in the romance fraud timeline: the dating platforms themselves. Dating platforms offer an opportunity to examine interactions between scammers and potential victims, thus potentially providing interventions when scammer behaviour is identified rather than after the fact; allowing context dependent advice in this setting helps keep users one step ahead of the scammers

Editorial

Games are complex systems that operate at the intersections of science and art, leisure and sport, complex and simple, academic and practice, among others. In an increasingly connected and interdependent world, games continue to transcend borders and reach international audiences everywhere, often instantly. Despite this almost unfettered access to games, the global nature of game development and distribution has also resulted in complex economic ties across and between companies, countries and continents. Large media conglomerates design, develop and produce their AAA games in multiple locations around the world. Each location brings its own significant challenges, opportunities and barriers to entering particular markets, be it from a localization or legal point of view. This Special Issue of the Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds, 'China and the World: Navigating Video Game Localization and Copyright Challenges', brings together experts from different fields providing insights into the Chinese games market from an interdisciplinary and international perspective. This Special Issue is dedicated to analysing and understanding the Chinese games market from interdisciplinary perspectives, particularly the ways in which video game localization rationale and copyright law differ globally. The five contributions to this issue demonstrate the complex internationality and intersectionality of the Chinese games market together with the challenges and opportunities associated with entering the market