An Exploration of Mental Skills Among Competitive League of Legend Players

Author(s):  
Daniel Himmelstein ◽  
Yitong Liu ◽  
Jamie L. Shapiro

ESports, also known as competitive video gaming, has seen tremendous growth over the past few years. Several studies have been conducted that examined the potential cognitive benefits of playing video games, but few have examined the psychosocial factors needed to perform at the highest level of competitive video gaming. In this study, the researchers aimed to identify specific mental obstacles players face and any mental techniques gamers already utilize by conducting a qualitative content analysis. Interviews with five high-level competitive League of Legend players were conducted to shed light on their experiences. The interviews resulted in two high order themes. Those high order themes were the following: techniques used to achieve optimal performance and obstacles encountered by competitive gamers. The data collected can be used by a wide population in both the performance psychology field and the eSports realm, more specifically, future mental skills consultants working with League of Legends players, gamers themselves, and academics who wish to serve, improve, or study those involved in an emerging performance domain.

Author(s):  
Daniel Himmelstein ◽  
Yitong Liu ◽  
Jamie L. Shapiro

ESports, also known as competitive video gaming, has seen tremendous growth over the past few years. Several studies have been conducted that examined the potential cognitive benefits of playing video games, but few have examined the psychosocial factors needed to perform at the highest level of competitive video gaming. In this study, the researchers aimed to identify specific mental obstacles players face and any mental techniques gamers already utilize by conducting a qualitative content analysis. Interviews with five high-level competitive League of Legend players were conducted to shed light on their experiences. The interviews resulted in two high order themes. Those high order themes were the following: techniques used to achieve optimal performance and obstacles encountered by competitive gamers. The data collected can be used by a wide population in both the performance psychology field and the eSports realm, more specifically, future mental skills consultants working with League of Legends players, gamers themselves, and academics who wish to serve, improve, or study those involved in an emerging performance domain.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Debo Dong ◽  
Dezhong Yao ◽  
Yulin Wang ◽  
Seok-Jun Hong ◽  
Sarah Genon ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Schizophrenia has been primarily conceptualized as a disorder of high-order cognitive functions with deficits in executive brain regions. Yet due to the increasing reports of early sensory processing deficit, recent models focus more on the developmental effects of impaired sensory process on high-order functions. The present study examined whether this pathological interaction relates to an overarching system-level imbalance, specifically a disruption in macroscale hierarchy affecting integration and segregation of unimodal and transmodal networks. Methods We applied a novel combination of connectome gradient and stepwise connectivity analysis to resting-state fMRI to characterize the sensorimotor-to-transmodal cortical hierarchy organization (96 patients v. 122 controls). Results We demonstrated compression of the cortical hierarchy organization in schizophrenia, with a prominent compression from the sensorimotor region and a less prominent compression from the frontal−parietal region, resulting in a diminished separation between sensory and fronto-parietal cognitive systems. Further analyses suggested reduced differentiation related to atypical functional connectome transition from unimodal to transmodal brain areas. Specifically, we found hypo-connectivity within unimodal regions and hyper-connectivity between unimodal regions and fronto-parietal and ventral attention regions along the classical sensation-to-cognition continuum (voxel-level corrected, p < 0.05). Conclusions The compression of cortical hierarchy organization represents a novel and integrative system-level substrate underlying the pathological interaction of early sensory and cognitive function in schizophrenia. This abnormal cortical hierarchy organization suggests cascading impairments from the disruption of the somatosensory−motor system and inefficient integration of bottom-up sensory information with attentional demands and executive control processes partially account for high-level cognitive deficits characteristic of schizophrenia.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (33) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yudha Andana Prawira ◽  
Titim Kurnia

The National Education World is currently trying to improve the ability of its students to think critically and creatively. One of these efforts has been pursued through evaluations that also lead to critical reflection. This research is a descriptive analysis of the final semester evaluation questions that are examined from the point of view of high-level thinking [HOTS]. The reference to the HOTS criteria is that the researcher refers to the opinions of King and his friends. From the manuscript data, the issues examined are samples from the Bandung area. The results of the analysis show that 10 out of 15 HOTS ranges proposed by King are already included in the scripts made by the teachers. On the one hand, it shows the teacher's creativity in compiling questions. On the other hand, all these questions do not refer to the HOTS criteria as planned. Therefore, there is a need to increase teachers' skills in compiling scripts as HOTS. This increase can be done through teacher training.Keywords: Evaluation, HOTS, critical thinking and creativity thingking


Author(s):  
Sefa Secen

Abstract Under what conditions do governments view and respond to the arrival of refugees primarily as a security threat? Comparatively analyzing the securitization of Syrian refugees in two host countries, Turkey and Lebanon, this paper proposes a domestic political context–based theory and typology of securitization. Based on a quantitative and qualitative content analysis of the media data including mainstream national Turkish and Lebanese newspaper articles, this research first differentiates between different levels of securitization and finds that moderate securitization in Lebanon during the early years of the refugee crisis (2013–2014) coincided with an open border policy, inaction, legal ambiguity, and benign neglect. From 2015, a marked increase of securitization in Lebanon coincided with controlled borders, restrictive policies, and heightened tension. Securitization of Syrian refugees has followed a somewhat different trajectory in Turkey, where the state switched from non-recognition (2013–2014) to recognition (2014–2016) and then from recognition to integration (2016–present), while a decrease in securitization mapped onto this policy trajectory despite the opposition's and the public's increasing discontentment with the presence of refugees. Then, this paper argues that the low level of securitization in Turkey is an outcome of the incumbent party's Islamist political ideology that motivates transnational religious solidarity, whereas the high level of securitization in Lebanon is a consequence of elite divisions and the country's unique historical experiences with Palestinian refugees that engender competing security perspectives and agendas on Syrian refugees. Overall, this study demonstrates how contextual or domestic factors are key to explaining government attitudes toward refugee groups and contributes to our understanding of the sources and processes of securitization.


Sports ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Casey J. Thomas ◽  
Jeffrey Rothschild ◽  
Conrad P. Earnest ◽  
Aaron Blaisdell

To examine the cognitive and physical changes associated with consuming an energy drink concurrent to video gaming, we examined a convenience sample of nine elite League of Legends (LoL) e-sport players (21 ± 2 y, BMI 25.6 ± 3.4 kg/m2) consuming an energy drink (ReloadTM) or placebo (Placebo) in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over trial. Participants completed the same test battery prior to treatment consumption and after playing each of three competitive LoL games. Primary outcomes included measures of attention (Erikson Flanker Test), reaction time (Go/No-Go test) and working memory (n-back test). Secondary outcomes examined fatigue (hand grip strength and finger tap speed). Statistical analysis was performed by repeated-measures analysis of variance (RM-ANOVA) and reported as the mean (standard deviation [SD]) or mean change (95% confidence interval [CI]). Participants reported sleeping 8.1 (1.2) h/night, playing LoL 10.3 (2.1) h/d, playing other video games 1.8 (2.8) h/d, and exercising 4.2 (1.7) times per week. Overall, we observed no significant time, group, or group-by-time interactions for any measured performance index with the exception of a significant improvement for the n-back test, where the Reload group demonstrated a significant within-group improvement: Reload [−171 ms (95% CI, −327.91, −14.09), p < 0.004], Placebo [−92 ms (95% CI, −213.63, 29.63)]. However, no between-group differences were noted (38.50 ms, 95% CI, −141.89, 64.89, p = 0.803). Our findings suggest that elite eSport athletes do not demonstrate a mental or physical improvement in performance relative to the treatment supplement or indices measured in this study.


Author(s):  
Zhongsheng Zhai ◽  
Jiaojie Huang ◽  
Zhuang Cheng ◽  
Qinghua Lv ◽  
Xuanze Wang

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 694-704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Hamidifar

Purpose – Over the past three decades, academic leaders at Islamic Azad University (IAU) have been facing different challenges for the success of the institutions. The purpose of this paper is to identify the challenges confronting IAU academic leaders in managerial positions. Design/methodology/approach – In this qualitative study, questionnaires containing open-ended questions were sent to academic leaders in managerial positions at IAU branches in Iran and the collected data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Findings – The results revealed that the main challenges were categorized into two themes: internal and external environmental factors. Internal challenges were sub-categorized into administration and managerial affairs, financial issues, organizational culture, and students’ affairs. External challenges were sub-categorized into political, economic, social, and technological factors, and international and national competitions. Research limitations/implications – This study is limited to Iran and IAU academic leaders who worked mainly in high-level and middle-level of managerial positions; therefore, the results cannot be generalized. The key implications are related to applying continuous professional growth through collaborative and qualified development programs. The implications could be appropriate for other higher education institutions in Iran. Originality/value – This is the first attempt to study the challenges confronting IAU academic leaders in Iran. The findings can help IAU academic leaders plan the most appropriate framework for professional academic leadership development programs.


2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 371-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Mosley ◽  
Desiree’ J. Frierson ◽  
Yihan Cheng ◽  
Mark W. Aoyagi

The real world practice of sport and performance psychology will inevitably present the practitioner with performers for whom spirituality is the supreme motivator (Balague, 1999). Spirituality and sport, despite its practical relevance, is an underdeveloped and sometimes misunderstood combination (Nesti, 2007). The aim of this study was to reveal the individual experiences of athletes as they integrate spirituality and their sport participation. Five high level athletes (1 female, 4 male), each holding a Christian worldview were interviewed. A strategically designed interview guide illuminated several key themes, which Watson and Nesti (2005) suggested, would contribute much to the existing literature. Out of these themes, practical implications have been considered for the delivery of sport and performance psychology services to Christian athletes. Evidenced by this study, is the reality that some Christian athletes present a unique perspective through which appropriately tailored sport psychology services can readily precipitate personal excellence in sport and life.


Author(s):  
В. Позевалкин ◽  
Vladimir Pozevalkin ◽  
И. Парфёнов ◽  
Igor' Parfenov ◽  
А. Поляков ◽  
...  

The article presents processing module of experimental thermal characteristics of machine tools in real time using high order derivatives. It is developed in a high level programming language. This module is a part of automated system of tests and diagnostics of machines thermal state. The module is equipped with a graphical user interface; it works in real time, allows performing procedures for smoothing experimental thermal characteristics and determining their prognostic values. This allows building curves of speed, acceleration and sharpness of temperature change over the time. The developed software module implements a new algorithm based on the Horner’s method. The practice of developing algorithmic software shows that the chosen method is very convenient and effective for machine implementation, due to the absence of a division operation at each computational step. It is experimentally confirmed that the total costs of performing the calculations of high order derivatives of an arbitrary degree polynomial using the Horner’s method according to the described algorithm are acceptable for real-time calculations on a standard personal computer. Data temperature and temperature movements of the machine working bodies can be processed using the developed algorithms. In addition, this algorithm allows calculating the value of the approximating polynomial and simultaneously obtaining the values of all its derivatives at a given point. This allows to solve the problem of "shift in time by step" of the position of characteristic points.


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