3,530 research outputs found
Project:Filter - using applied games to engage secondary schoolchildren with public policy
Applied games present a twenty-first-century method of consuming information for a specific purpose beyond pure entertainment. Objectives such as awareness and engagement are often used as intended outcomes of applied games in alignment with strategic, organizational, or commercial purposes. Applied games were highlighted as an engagement-based outcome to explore noPILLS, a pan-European policy research project which presented policy pointers and suggested methods of interventions for reducing micropollution within the wastewater treatment process. This paper provides an assessment of a video game which was developed for the purpose of public engagement with policy-based research. The video game, Project:Filter, was developed as a means of communicating noPILLS to secondary school children in Scotland as part of a classroom-based activity. Knowledge development and engagement were identified using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to evidence topical awareness, depth of understanding, and suggested methods of intervention. Analysis of observations also provided insights into challenges surrounding logistics, pedagogy, social interactions, learning, and gender as contributing factors to the schoolchildren’s experiences of Project:Filter. The intention of this paper is two-fold: firstly, to provide an example of developing video games from policy-based research; and secondly, to suggest methods of phenomenological assessment for identifying play-based engagement
Calcium supplements with or without vitamin D and risk of cardiovascular events : reanalysis of the Women's Health Initiative limited access dataset and meta-analysis
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Nearby Microlensing Events - Identification of the Candidates for the SIM
The Space Interferometry Mission (SIM) is the instrument of choice when it
comes to observing astrometric microlensing events where nearby, usually
high-proper-motion stars (``lenses''), pass in front of more distant stars
(``sources''). Each such encounter produces a deflection in the source's
apparent position that when observed by SIM can lead to a precise mass
determination of the nearby lens star. We search for lens-source encounters
during the 2005-2015 period using Hipparcos, ACT and NLTT to select lenses, and
USNO-A2.0 to search for the corresponding sources, and rank these by the SIM
time required for a 1% mass measurement.
For Hipparcos and ACT lenses, the lens distance and lens-source impact
parameter are precisely determined so the events are well characterized. We
present 32 candidates beginning with a 61 Cyg A event in 2012 that requires
only a few minutes of SIM time. Proxima Centauri and Barnard's star each
generate several events. For NLTT lenses, the distance is known only to a
factor of 3, and the impact parameter only to 1''. Together, these produce
uncertainties of a factor ~10 in the amount of SIM time required. We present a
list of 146 NLTT candidates and show how single-epoch CCD photometry of the
candidates could reduce the uncertainty in SIM time to a factor of ~1.5.Comment: ApJ accepted, 31 pages (inc. 5 tables), 5 figures. t SIM refine
Discovery of An Unusually Blue L Dwarf Within 10 pc of the Sun
We report the discovery of an unusually blue L5 dwarf within 10 pc of the Sun
from a search of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectra. A spectrophotometric
distance estimate of 8.0+/-1.6 pc places SDSS J141624.08+134826.7 among the six
closest known L dwarfs. SDSS 1416+13 was overlooked in infrared color-based
searches because of its unusually blue J-K_S color, which also identifies it as
the nearest member of the blue L dwarf subclass. We present additional infrared
and optical spectroscopy from the IRTF/SpeX and Magellan/MagE spectrographs and
determine UVW motions that indicate thin disk kinematics. The inclusion of SDSS
1416+13 in the 20 pc sample of L dwarfs increases the number of L5 dwarfs by
20% suggesting that the L dwarf luminosity function may be far from complete.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in AJ; updated version
includes corrected radial velocit
A theoretical framework for game jams in applied contexts
Game jams encourage participants to define, explore, create, and disseminate games with respect to a pre-defined time-period and under specified constraints. Various methods and approaches have helped with establishing conventions, rules, and processes, and culture surrounding game jams, with practical guides for participants (Kaitila 2012) and organisers (Cornish et al. 2017) available. The popularity of game jams has resulted in an increased demand for game jams that explore a range of different topics, issues, and objectives through game development (Eberhardt 2016; Pirker et al. 2016). Stakeholders interested in ‘applied game jams’ have utilized traditional game jam formats to explore game development across various contexts, including health and wellbeing (Preston, 2014), community engagement (Decker et al. 2015), and social development (Myers et al. 2019). There is a perceived gap to establish a universal method with which to design, execute, and evaluate applied game jams against intentional outcomes
Letter. On the activation of [CrCl3{R-SN(H)S-R}] catalysts for selective trimerization of ethene: a freeze-quench Cr K-edge XAFS study
Homogeneous chromium catalysts for the selective conversion of ethene to hex-1-ene are formed from Cr(III) reagents, amino-thioether ligands of the type HN(CH2CH2SR)2, and aluminum reagents. In this study the early activation steps are investigated by EPR, UV-visible and Cr K-edge XAFS spectroscopy; rapid stopped-flow mixing and a freeze-quench allows good quality EXAFS analysis of a species formed in ~ 1 second of reaction. This is shown to involve reduction to Cr(II) and deprotonation of a NH group of the auxiliary ligand. This 4-coordinate metal-center may act as precursor for the coordination of ethene and subsequent selective oligomerization
Calcium supplements and cancer risk : a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Effect of calcium supplements on risk of myocardial infarction and cardiovascular events : meta-analysis
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
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