Effective affective user interface design in games

It is proposed that games, which are designed to generate positive affect, are most successful when they facilitate flow (Csikszentmihalyi 1992). Flow is a state of concentration, deep enjoyment, and total absorption in an activity. The study of games, and a resulting understanding of flow in games can inform the design of non-leisure software for positive affect. The paper considers the ways in which computer games contravene Nielsen's guidelines for heuristic evaluation ( Nielsen and Molich 1990) and how these contraventions impact on flow. The paper also explores the implications for research that stem from the differences between games played on a personal computer and games played on a dedicated console. This research takes important initial steps towards de. ning how flow in computer games can inform affective design.

Theoretical frameworks for analysing turn-based computer strategy games

This paper argues for a more specific formal methodology for the textual analysis of individual game genres. In doing so, it advances a set of formal analytical tools and a theoretical framework for the analysis of turn-based computer strategy games. The analytical tools extend the useful work of Steven Poole, who suggests a Peircian semiotic approach to the study of games as formal systems. The theoretical framework draws upon postmodern cultural theory to analyse and explain the representation of space and the organisation of knowledge in these games. The methodology and theoretical framework is supported by a textual analysis of Civilization II, a significant and influential turn-based computer strategy game. Finally, this paper suggests possibilities for future extensions of this work.

End games: Euthanasia under interminable scrutiny

It is increasingly asserted that the disagreements of abstract principle between adversaries in the euthanasia debate fail to account for the complex, particular and ambiguous experiences of people at the end of their lives. A greater research effort into experiences, meaning, connection, vulnerability and motivation is advocated, during which the euthanasia 'question' should remain open. I argue that this is a normative strategy, which is felicitous to the status quo and further medicalises the end of life, but which masquerades as a value-neutral assertion about needing more knowledge.

Combating interference in an indoor wireless-communication system using a phased-array antenna with switched-beam elements

A phased-array antenna with switched-beam elements used to combat interference in an indoor wireless communication system is described. The array uses I-bit phase shifters applied to its elements in order to point its main beam in a desired direction and internal switching of elements in order to form nulls towards interference. The array's capability of suppressing interference is verified by studying its radiation patterns and by performing interference-rejection experiments in an indoor multipath environment. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Maintaining human agency in the design on context-aware systems: Design games in a dental surgery

This paper describes a series of design games, specifically aimed at exploring shifts in human agency in order to inform the design of context-aware applications. The games focused on understanding information handling issues in dental practice with participants from a university dental school playing an active role in the activities. Participatory design activities help participants to reveal potential implicit technical resources that can be presented explicitly in technologies in order to assist humans in managing their interactions with and amidst technical systems gracefully.

A modified particle filter for simultaneous robot localization and landmark tracking in an indoor environment

This paper presents the implementation of a modified particle filter for vision-based simultaneous localization and mapping of an autonomous robot in a structured indoor environment. Through this method, artificial landmarks such as multi-coloured cylinders can be tracked with a camera mounted on the robot, and the position of the robot can be estimated at the same time. Experimental results in simulation and in real environments show that this approach has advantages over the extended Kalman filter with ambiguous data association and various levels of odometric noise.