Course Of Game Research Articles

The television viewer’s quest for excitement – does the course of a soccer game affect TV ratings?

According to Elias and Dunning’s theory of the civilizing process, modern society can be characterized by a lack of excitement. Spare time activities may serve a compensatory function for this perceived monotony of modern life. During leisure, the modern individual searches for excitement from mimetic activities. Consumption of sports broadcasts may also be motivated by this search for excitement. Based on this assumption, this study analyzes the fluctuation of TV viewership during the course of soccer matches. Based on to-the-minute data on TV ratings of soccer matches shown in German free-to-air (FTA) TV in 2012, it can be demonstrated that a high level of entertainment, surprise and suspense are related to an increase in TV viewership. Most significantly, however, it is the degree of suspense, i.e. the uncertainty of the outcome of the match, which keeps audiences tuned in. These results are highly consistent with the assumptions deduced from Elias and Dunning’s theory.

Towards a model for measuring teamwork in Australian Rules Football Officials

Officials in sport are a growing area of research in human factors due to the rapid decision making, expertise and teamwork required to officiate. Influenced by the “Big Five” model of teamwork, this paper presents exploratory research which developed measures for capturing teamwork in Australian Rules Football (AFL) Umpires. Four ratings of AFL umpiring teamwork are presented – Time in Control, Difference in Control, Time in Midzone and Difference in Midzone, which capture coordination, mutual performance monitoring and backup behavior in AFL umpiring teams. The measures are tested through observational analysis of umpiring teams in seven AFL games. The findings demonstrate that the measures achieved inter- and intra-team differences in teamwork; while over the course of games the umpiring teams demonstrated the ability to self-regulate. The suitability of the measures to AFL umpiring, the “Big Five” model, and other teamwork domains are discussed. Finally, extensions of the measures into a model of AFL umpiring teamwork are presented.

Game Method in Preschool English Teaching

<p>Interest is a great motivation for the study of almost everything, particularly for L2 study. To preschool students, games are quite attractive. Therefore game method is a good way to help students to learn English, especially in kindergartens. It fits the characteristics of preschool students, providing learning motivation, lowering students’ stress and offering the opportunity for real communication. Nowadays, more and more teachers are using games effectively in class to improve their teaching. In order to apply game method effectively in teaching English in kindergartens, games must be designed purposeful, interesting, various, heuristic and student-oriented. During the course of games (pre-games, in games and post-games), some details should be paid more attention to.</p>

Timeline of the Summer World Polonia Games (1934–2015)

This paper provides a timeline of the 81-year history of the organization of the summer Polonia Sports Games in Poland in the years 1934–1991 and their continuation under a changed name as the World Polonia Games in the years 1997–2015. The World Polonia Games are closely related to communities of the Polish diaspora, called Polonia, located in several dozen countries around the world. These people, generally maintaining a sense of connection with the Motherland, formed various social, religious, educational, cultural and youth associations. Among the latter, sports organizations played an important part. The objectives of physical culture related Polonia associations usually emphasized the need for and the significance of their cooperation with the sports movement in the home country. It was established through central institutions representing the interests of the Polonia community. This cooperation was aimed at mutual support of both the Polonia sports and competitive sports in Poland. The aim of this work is to present a timeline of events related to the organization and the course of the Summer World Polonia Games (1934–2015). The concept adopted by the authors stems not only from the extensive chronology, but also from the vastness of the source material. Many athletes representing various Polish diaspora communities participated in the Polonia Sports Games, and later in the Summer World Polonia Games. The program of the Games underwent gradual changes. The initially determined sporting performance minimums, which were to determine who should qualify for the Games were lifted. Age categories were extended in order to enable young, middle-aged and older people to take part in the Games. The Polonia Games gave impetus to association of Polish athletes in Polonia sports organizations abroad and contributed largely to the consolidation of Polish national life in exile. Polonia activists together with sports activists in Poland decided to continue the World Polonia Games for the sake of the whole Polish diaspora and Poles living in Poland.

Change in pitching biomechanics in the late-inning in Taiwanese high school baseball pitchers.

Repetitive overhead throwing may result in overuse injuries and a change in the pitching mechanics of a baseball pitcher. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to quantify the changes in the muscle strength and pitching motion kinematics in the late-innings stage of a baseball game. Sixteen healthy baseball pitchers (16.77 ± 0.73 years) recruited from a high school, which won the National High School Baseball Championship in Taiwan in 2011; each performed 100 pitches in a bullpen throwing session. Isometric muscle strength measurements and joint kinematic data were obtained before and after the throwing session. The mean Borg's Rating of Perceived Exertion index was found to have a value of 14.14, indicating a medium-to-large degree of perceived tiredness. The results showed that the ball velocity and horizontal abduction angle decreased significantly as the pitchers became tired. Moreover, the upper torso forward tilt and knee flexion angle both increased significantly at the moment of ball release. Finally, the muscle strength of the upper extremity remained decreased 2 days after the bullpen throwing session. Overall, the results suggest that an adequate amount of rest and specific strengthening programs for the shoulder external rotator, shoulder internal rotator, shoulder flexor, shoulder extensor, shoulder adductor, and shoulder abductor muscles are recommended to the coaches and for adolescent baseball pitchers. In addition, the changes in pitching mechanics noted in this study should be carefully monitored during the course of a baseball game to minimize the risk for overuse injuries.

Using Portable Video Modeling Technology to Increase the Compliment Behaviors of Children with Autism During Athletic Group Play

A multiple baseline design across participants was used to examine the effects of a portable video modeling intervention delivered in the natural environment on the verbal compliments and compliment gestures demonstrated by five children with autism. Participants were observed playing kickball with peers and adults. In baseline, participants demonstrated few compliment behaviors. During intervention, an iPad(®) was used to implement the video modeling treatment during the course of the athletic game. Viewing the video rapidly increased the verbal compliments participants gave to peers. Participants also demonstrated more response variation after watching the videos. Some generalization to an untrained activity occurred and compliment gestures also occurred. Results are discussed in terms of contributions to the literature.

A Game-Theoretic Approach to Stable Routing in Max-Min Fair Networks

In this paper, we present a game-theoretic study of the problem of routing in networks with max-min fair congestion control at the link level. The problem is formulated as a noncooperative game, in which each user aims to maximize its own bandwidth by selecting its routing path. We first prove the existence of Nash equilibria. This is important, because at a Nash equilibrium (NE), no user has any incentive to change its routing strategy-leading to a stable state. In addition, we investigate how the selfish behavior of users may affect the performance of the network as a whole. We next introduce a novel concept of observed available bandwidth on each link. It allows a user to find a path with maximum bandwidth under max-min fair congestion control in polynomial time, when paths of other users are fixed. We then present a game-based algorithm to compute an NE and prove that by following the natural game course, the network converges to an NE. Extensive simulations show that the algorithm converges to an NE within 10 iterations and also achieves better fairness compared to other algorithms .

Single and combined effects of beetroot juice and caffeine supplementation on cycling time trial performance.

Both caffeine and beetroot juice have ergogenic effects on endurance cycling performance. We investigated whether there is an additive effect of these supplements on the performance of a cycling time trial (TT) simulating the 2012 London Olympic Games course. Twelve male and 12 female competitive cyclists each completed 4 experimental trials in a double-blind Latin square design. Trials were undertaken with a caffeinated gum (CAFF) (3 mg·kg(-1) body mass (BM), 40 min prior to the TT), concentrated beetroot juice supplementation (BJ) (8.4 mmol of nitrate (NO3(-)), 2 h prior to the TT), caffeine plus beetroot juice (CAFF+BJ), or a control (CONT). Subjects completed the TT (females: 29.35 km; males: 43.83 km) on a laboratory cycle ergometer under conditions of best practice nutrition: following a carbohydrate-rich pre-event meal, with the ingestion of a carbohydrate-electrolyte drink and regular oral carbohydrate contact during the TT. Compared with CONT, power output was significantly enhanced after CAFF+BJ and CAFF (3.0% and 3.9%, respectively, p < 0.01). There was no effect of BJ supplementation when used alone (-0.4%, p = 0.6 compared with CONT) or when combined with caffeine (-0.9%, p = 0.4 compared with CAFF). We conclude that caffeine (3 mg·kg(-1) BM) administered in the form of a caffeinated gum increased cycling TT performance lasting ∼50-60 min by ∼3%-4% in both males and females. Beetroot juice supplementation was not ergogenic under the conditions of this study.

Analysis of Subjective and Objective Fatigue In Fast-pitch Softball Pitchers during A Single Season

Objectives:While the windmill pitch used in fast-pitch softball is considered by many to be safe compared to the overhead baseball pitch, there is little information that exists regarding the effects of the fatigue on fast-pitch softball pitchers. Recent biomechanical evidence suggests that the stress on the shoulder from the windmill pitch rivals that seen in baseball pitchers. We aim to characterize the effects of windmill pitching on pain, fatigue, range of motion (ROM) and strength in high school fast-pitch softball pitchers during a single season.Methods:We evaluated shoulder and elbow strength (dynamometer), ROM (goniometer), pain (visual analog scale (VAS)) and fatigue (VAS-fatigue and Borg questionnaire) in 21 (ages 15-18) high school fast-pitch softball pitchers before and after a single game during the first week of the high school softball season. Of the 21 pitchers, 17 were re-evaluated before and after a single game during the last week of the high school softball season with the aforementioned measurements. A study-team member recorded the number of pitches thrown by each pitcher for the games being evaluated. We recorded the number of games pitched by each pitcher during the high school season based on the pitchers’ report.Results:Of the 21 players, two players were injured mid-season and could not complete follow up. Two players were lost to follow-up. The average number of pitches thrown per player per game was 89±25 (range 30-161). The average games pitched was 12±5.7 (range 5-24). Supraspinatus (p<0.001), biceps (p<0.001), and external rotation strength in abduction and in neutral (p<0.001) decreased significantly post-game compared to pre-game regardless of the time of the season. Pain and fatigue were significantly higher post-game than pre-game (p<0.018) regardless of the time of the season. Pre-game VAS pain and fatigue at the end of the season correlated with the number games pitched during the season (r=0.66-0.73, p<0.006). There was an inverse linear relationship between games pitched and pre-game biceps, supraspinatus, and external rotation strength at the end of the season compared to beginning of season (r=-0.66-0.88, p<0.006). At the end of season compared to the beginning of season, there was a significant difference in pre-game pain, fatigue, biceps, supraspinatus, and external rotation strength between players who pitched more than 10 games versus players who pitched less than 10 games (p<0.033).Conclusion:Biceps and rotator cuff strength decrease significantly throughout the course of a game. Pitching more games during a season significantly increases pain and fatigue while significantly decreasing pre-game biceps and rotator cuff strength. Softball pitchers may be at increased risk of injury from fatigue during the course of a single game and over the entire season. Targeted strengthening as well as adequate rest intervals should be evaluated in these athletes.

Jogos de empresas como componente curricular: análise de sua aplicação por meio de planos de ensino

O objetivo deste artigo é analisar a pertinência da presença de um componente curricular denominado Jogos de Empresas, nos cursos de graduação em Administração no Brasil. A revisão bibliográfica demonstra que a aplicação de jogos tem elevado potencial de contribuição para a formação em Administração, mas a presente pesquisa identificou falhas na concepção das disciplinas a ela relacionadas. Os Planos de Ensino da disciplina "Jogos de Empresas" (com algumas variações de nomenclatura) de 25 IES brasileiras foram analisados por meio de pesquisa documental. Duas abordagens distintas foram identificadas para o tratamento da disciplina Jogos de Empresas: a primeira, que trata da capacitação para que se apliquem jogos como ferramenta de ensino-aprendizagem; e a segunda, que trata da integração das diversas disciplinas específicas de gestão. A análise apontou uma distorção da interpretação institucional a respeito da importância dos jogos para a formação em Administração. Há equívoco na concepção das disciplinas, que sofrem de falta de identidade, e quanto a não aplicação dos jogos no próprio desenvolvimento de tais disciplinas. Dessa forma, este artigo é concluído com a demonstração da necessidade de um maior apoio institucional executado por meio da aquisição/desenvolvimento de recursos didáticos e da capacitação docente para que se desenvolvam jogos de empresas.

Fitting the Needs of an Industry

There have been growing criticisms in recent years among the computer and video games community on the apparent lack of graduates capable of meeting the industry’s employment needs. Following the sharp rise in the number of computer and video games courses across higher education (HE) institutions in the UK and across the globe, this article examines the composition of existing British games design, development, and art programs in relation to prescribed study areas voiced by industry bodies. From a sample of 242 courses, and a further 11 industry-derived and accredited programs, the results explore content currently residing within a variety of games programs and qualification types and evaluate the extent to which such content adheres to the industry’s demand for the focus on specific skills and study areas. The findings point toward certain shortfalls in some key areas deemed to be important by industry professionals and the consideration of the degree to which course providers should cater to the specific demands of industry.

A Study on the Change of Operation of Driving Video Game Under Ultrasound Exposure

This paper presents a preliminary study on the influences on an operator’s maneuver by the ultrasound signal. The lap time of driving computer video game course, that is, the performance index of operation, is measured for each subject with or without ultrasound signal exposure. Results show that the operational characteristics of several subjects are changed by the ultrasound environment. Subjects tend to concentrate on handling the driving and decreasing an attention to check the over speed driving during ultrasound exposure. We discuss the relationship between the ultrasound signal and the operator’s behavior.

Multi-party Dialogue Games for Dialectical Argumentation

This paper concerns a distributed argumentation system where different agents are equipped with argumentative knowledge base (henceforth referred as KB) within which conflict arguments are represented using attacking relations. This paper proposes the notion of “defensibility” of an argument in a distributed argumentation system and a multi-party dialogue game to compute the defensibility of an argument. In our multi-party dialogue game framework, we have proposed the notion of critical factor, legal move function and critical countermeasure, which act as the mechanism for avoiding idle attack and invalid attack in the course of dialogue games. Theoretically, the paper has also proved the soundness and completeness of multi-party dialogue games conducted by legal move and countermeasure function. It is anticipated that this research will contribute to argumentation research in MAS.

Analysis of basketball game states and transition probabilities using the Markov chains

The abstract system of a basketball game has been established in the paper. Parts of the game are marked with the common characteristics; they are repeated, therefore, they can be denoted with the category: game states. The presented model enables the recognition and analysis of interaction between the set of system states. The discretization of the continuous course or flow of a basketball game and the definition of equivalence among game states have given the prerequisites for the determination of transition probabilities between system states. Discrete stochastic processes and Markov chains were used for events modeling and transition probabilities calculation between the states. The matrix of transition probabilities has been structured between particular states of the Markov chain. The proposed model differentiates game states within four phases of game flow and enables the prediction of the future states.

The influence of complexity and uncertainty on self-directed team learning

To help increase the effectiveness of self–directed teams, this paper studies the attitudes and behaviour of self–directed team members during the course of a computer simulated marketing strategy game. Self–directed teams are used widely throughout organisations yet receive little scrutiny when they undertake a task which is subject to conditions of multi–period complexity and uncertainty. To explore the issues involved 42 teams of final year undergraduate marketing students completed online self–report questionnaires during the completion of a competitive marketing strategy simulation game. The research findings reveal team performance as a dynamic construct that is predicted by prior period performance and team resilience, but not emotional intelligence which is negatively related to team performance. It is hoped that future examinations of this model will highlight the need for management to be cognizant of these outcomes when designing training and intervention programmes to enable them to cope better with complex tasks and uncertainty.

Design and Evaluation of Afterthought, A System that Automatically Creates Highlight Cinematics for 3D Games

Online multiplayer gaming has emerged as a popular form of entertainment. the course of a multiplayer game, playerinteractions may result in interesting emer- gent narratives that go unnoticed. Afterthought is a system that monitors player activity, recognizes instances of story elements in gameplay and renders cinematic highlights of the story-oriented game play, allowing players to view these emergent narratives after completing their gameplay session. This paper describes Afterthought’s implementation as well as an empirical human-subjects evaluation of the effectiveness of the cinematics that it creates.

Oscillations of centroid position and surface area of soccer teams in small-sided games

There is a need for a collective variable that captures the dynamics of team sports like soccer at match level. The centroid positions and surface areas of two soccer teams potentially describe the coordinated flow of attacking and defending in small-sided soccer games at team level. The aim of the present study was to identify an overall game pattern by establishing whether the proposed variables were linearly related between teams over the course of the game. In addition, we tried to identify patterns in the build-up of goals. A positive linear relation and a negative linear relation were hypothesized for the centroid positions and surface areas respectively. Finally, we hypothesized that deviations from these patterns are present in the build-up of goals. Ten young male elite soccer players (mean age 17.3, s=0.7) played three small-sided soccer games (4-a-side) of 8 minutes as part of their regular training routine. An innovative player tracking system, local position measurement (LPM), was used for obtaining player positions at 45 Hz per player. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to investigate the proposed linear relation of the key variables. Correlation coefficients indicate a strong positive linear relation during a whole game for the centroid position in all three games, with the strongest relation for the forward-backward direction (r>0.94). For 10 out of 19 goals a crossing of the centroids in this direction can be seen. No negative linear relation was found for surface area (−0.01 < r<0.07). From this study, we concluded that over the course of a whole small-sided game, the forward-backward motion of the centroids is most strongly linearly related. Furthermore, goals show a specific pattern in the forward-backward motion of the centroid. Therefore, surface area and particularly centroid position may provide a sound basis for a collective variable that captures the dynamics of attacking and defending in soccer at team level. Future research should develop these ideas further.

Influence of certain tactical attacking patterns on the result achieved by the teams participants of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa

The aim of this study is to compare tactical manifestations of soccer teams, different competitive success, defined on the basis of the achieved results in one match at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The teams were divided into 3 groups based on the match results, the tactical analysis included a total of 60 matches of 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The first sub-sample of the subjects (winning) was consisted of the teams that won in the final result, the second sub-sample (draw) were the teams that ended in tied score (no winner), while the third subs ample (defeat) consisted of the teams which were defeated in the course of regular 90-minute game. Based on the previously processed data, which were taken from the official website of the International Federation of Association Soccer (www.fi fa.com), the observed parameters refer to the game efficiency, tactical attacking resource - passing the ball and the ball passing structure. Based on the analysis of the successful attacks frequency, it was revealed that there is a statistically significant difference in the number of successful attacks between the teams that had achieved different results (p = 0.003), in favor of the winning teams. Additionally, the successfulness of attacks, observed through their accuracy, indicates the differences in their distribution (p = 0.000) between the aforesaid groups. The results also indicate that the total run distance, on the level of one team is not associated with the final result. However, ball possession (P = 0.001), overall number of passes (p = 0.015) and overall number of correct passes (P = 0.013) were figured as important factors in achieving better results, while the analysis of the efficacy percentage and the structure of the game that applied passing, i.e., pass length is little or not associated with the final result. The results of this study can help identify those tactical attacking resources in soccer, which contribute to achieving better results.

Introduction into the game states analysis system in basketball

In the present study the course of basketball game is observed as a separate and comprehensive system consisting of the succession of characteristic game situations being defi ned as states of the game. Precise identifi cation and follow-up of various game states enables the explanation of game fl ow. In accordance with that, a formal mathematical model of the system “basketball game” has been founded from the aspect of kinematic description. The model enables the recognition of two basic system states which were in the paper defi ned like the set offense/defense and the transition offense/defense. The basic aim of both teams engaged in a match is to maintain balance in their own system of game states. Large number of states in set or positional and transition game have been listed. The system for assessing basketball game states will enable, through its empirical procedures, the computation of transition probability among states. Such an analysis of states and substates in transition and set offense and defense should facilitate understanding of the structure of the game and scientifi c research and evaluation of performance. This new methodological approach, based on the formal mathematical models, can be a prerequisite for research studies on discrete stochastic processes using the Markov chains. The elaborated paradigm of the system analysis of basketball game states can be applied, subject to certain modifi cations, to the other team sports games with the ball.

Learning through business games – an analysis of successes and failures

PurposeThe purpose of this research paper is to explore the interrelations between success in the Business Games course and other MSc courses, and the parameters that influence success in managing firms in business games.Design/methodology/approachThe research sample was comprised of graduate students from the Management of Technology faculty at Holon Institute of Technology. They study courses in the program, including the Business Games course. Special business game software, named Decision Makers, was used for the analyses. Statistical analyses of the interrelations among different program courses cover the main purpose. After defining five success criteria, statistical analyses of success and failure are presented.FindingsIn this course, success was generally uncorrelated with other courses. The reason for this was probably due to its project‐based learning (PBL) environment. The study shows that students tend to reduce their efforts across time and improve their performance, due to the “learning curve”. Analysis of the results shows that when teams overused the simulation runs, they do not analyze their situation, but rather prefer the “trial and error” method.Research limitations/implicationsThe present study provides results about the importance of training managers through using the business game simulator.Originality/valueUsing PBL is very exiting for those students who have difficulties in classroom studies. By using PBL, these students rapidly improve their management skills.