Introduction to the Special Issue: The AgentLink III Technical Forums

This article introduces the special issue of ACM Transactions on Autonomous and Adaptive Systems devoted to research papers arising from the three Technical Forum Group meetings held in 2004 and 2005 that were organized and sponsored by the European FP6 Coordination Action AgentLink III

Towards serious game-based interventions for the treatment of childhood trauma

Serious Games nutzen Videospiel-Technologien, um interaktive virtuelle Welten für unterschiedlichste Anwendungsbereiche bereitzustellen. Das große Interesse an der Anwendung von Serious Games im militärischen und kommerziellen Bereich steht dabei in starkem Gegensatz zum Mangel an empirischen Studien im Bereich der Serious Game unterstützten Psychotherapie. In diesem Artikel besprechen wir die Möglichkeit und die Anforderungen eines spezialisierten Werkzeugs zur Unterstützung der psychotherapeutischen Behandlung von Kindheitstraumata.Serious games use video game technology to deliver interactive worlds in support of a wide range of application areas. The vivid interest in the use of serious games in military and commercial settings stands in stark contrast to the paucity of empirical studies focused on game-based psychotherapy. We discuss the possibility and prerequisites of a serious game aimed at the support of individualized interventions to children suffering from childhood trauma

Design Pattern Canvas: An Introduction to Unified Serious Game Design Patterns

The aim of this article is to start a dialogue and search for a unified game design tool within the game design and research community. As a possible direction, presented paper outlines the practice and importance of design pattern use in serious game development and argues that design patterns can make serious game development more efficient by enabling knowledge exchange and better communication between different stakeholders. Furthermore, the use of design patterns provides a foundation for structured research and analysis of games. In order to help advance the state of game design the paper proposes a new method – the Serious Games Design Pattern Canvas or shorter Design Pattern Canvas (DPC). DPC is a design template for developing new or documenting existing (serious) game design patterns. It is a visual chart with elements describing a pattern\u27s purpose, mechanic, audience, consequences, collected data, related research and ethical considerations. It assists game designer in aligning their activities by illustrating patterns characteristics and potential trade-offs. One of the goals of the DPC is to either help break larger game design problems into smaller pieces or assist in a bottom up approach of designing serious games. It is important to note, that the paper proposes the first step for co-creation of a game design tool and further research and validation of the DPC is needed

Friction stir welding of AlSi10Mg plates produced by selective laser melting

A preliminary research work is carried out to demonstrate the feasibility of friction stir welding AlSi10Mg plates produced by selective laser melting. The metallurgical evolutions occurring have been studied and discussed on the basis of detailed microstructure observations. The FSW process enhances the structure of the parent material so that the weld presents an overall refinement of the microstructure and a decrease in microporosity in all its zones. Using the friction stir welding technology, sound welds harder than the parent material can be obtained

Variations among Italian Isolates of the «Heterobasidion annosum» P Group Detected Using the M13 Minisatellite

The genetic variability of 22 Italian isolates of Heterobasidion annosum belonging to intersterility group (ISG) P was studied by using the M13 minisatellite, as marker, in PCR experiments. Phylogenetic dendrogram constructed with the UPGMA method clearly differentiated the P group isolates from F and S ones, used for comparison. Within the tested population, P isolates related by the same geographical origin tend to form separated clusters. A stronger differentiation was observed in this Italian P population than in other European P populations previously studied with the same methods. The observed stronger genetic differentiation may be related to a more marked differentiation in host populations, considering that Italy was a refugee area during glaciation and a differentiation centre after. Also the specific morphology of Italy may not allow the genetic flow between the pathogen populations of different areas. Further investigations are needed to relate the genetic differentiation with isolates virulence