title: The production of machinima: A dialogue between ethnography, culture and space

authors: Schott, Gareth R.

subjects: videogame

abstract: Irrespective of the growing call for the legitimization and commercialization of machinima, as a mode of digital filmmaking using videogame hardware and software, this paper upholds an interest in the emergent play practices of gamers, rather than filmmakers, that embraces not only the curiosity and discovery exhibited within the fluid peripheries of the virtual worlds they inhabit, but also extends to delving into open-source 3D engines of games such as Half Life (Valve). It is this kind of playful exploration that was responsible for the initial emergence of machinima but also, we argue, for its continued and increasingly popular application as a key mode of articulating game fandom and the pleasures of play. Machinima is therefore examined here for its novel contribution to the existing multiple media channels adopted and utilized by participatory cultures that form around specific texts. Communities that are characterised not only by a shared practice (game playing) and heightened levels of appreciation, but also by the execution of creative practices that enunciate and define their specific ‘tastes’ whilst also transforming game texts to serve their alternative interests. Such practices are indicative of a contemporary fan-base that is no longer content with singular media experiences.

text: The production of machinima: A dialogue between ethnography, culture and space Irrespective of the growing call for the legitimization and commercialization of machinima, as a mode of digital filmmaking using videogame hardware and software, this paper upholds an interest in the emergent play practices of gamers, rather than filmmakers, that embraces not only the curiosity and discovery exhibited within the fluid peripheries of the virtual worlds they inhabit, but also extends to delving into open-source 3D engines of games such as Half Life (Valve). It is this kind of playful exploration that was responsible for the initial emergence of machinima but also, we argue, for its continued and increasingly popular application as a key mode of articulating game fandom and the pleasures of play. Machinima is therefore examined here for its novel contribution to the existing multiple media channels adopted and utilized by participatory cultures that form around specific texts. Communities that are characterised not only by a shared practice (game playing) and heightened levels of appreciation, but also by the execution of creative practices that enunciate and define their specific ‘tastes’ whilst also transforming game texts to serve their alternative interests. Such practices are indicative of a contemporary fan-base that is no longer content with singular media experiences.

year: 2011-07

title: Searching for patterns in political event sequences: Experiments with the KEDs database

authors: Kovar, Klaus

subjects: computer science

abstract: This paper presents an empirical study on the possibility of discovering interesting event sequences and sequential rules in a large database of international political events. A data mining algorithm first presented by Mannila and Toivonen (1996), has been implemented and extended, which is able to search for generalized episodes in such event databases. Experiments conducted with this algorithm on the Kansas Event Data System (KEDS) database, an event data set covering interactions between countries in the Persian Gulf region, are described. Some qualitative and quantitative results are reported, and experiences with strategies for reducing the problem complexity and focusing on the search on interesting subsets of events are described.

text: Searching for patterns in political event sequences: Experiments with the KEDs database This paper presents an empirical study on the possibility of discovering interesting event sequences and sequential rules in a large database of international political events. A data mining algorithm first presented by Mannila and Toivonen (1996), has been implemented and extended, which is able to search for generalized episodes in such event databases. Experiments conducted with this algorithm on the Kansas Event Data System (KEDS) database, an event data set covering interactions between countries in the Persian Gulf region, are described. Some qualitative and quantitative results are reported, and experiences with strategies for reducing the problem complexity and focusing on the search on interesting subsets of events are described.

year: 2000

title: What a difference a default setting makes

authors: Keegan, Te Taka Adrian Gregory

subjects: computer science

abstract: This paper examines the effect of the default interface language on the usage of a bilingual digital library. In 2005 the default interface language of a bilingual digital library was alternated on a monthly basis between Māori and English. A comprehensive transaction log analysis over this period reveals that not only did usage in a particular language increase when the default interface language was set to that language but that the way the interface was used, in both languages, was quite different depending on the default language.

text: What a difference a default setting makes This paper examines the effect of the default interface language on the usage of a bilingual digital library. In 2005 the default interface language of a bilingual digital library was alternated on a monthly basis between Māori and English. A comprehensive transaction log analysis over this period reveals that not only did usage in a particular language increase when the default interface language was set to that language but that the way the interface was used, in both languages, was quite different depending on the default language.

year: 2008