The influence of information configuration on mobile game download

PurposeThe study aims to show how several factors interact to promote mobile game download: the number of games released by a publisher, the quality of the games released, the popularity of a game's genre, the quality of borrowed intellectual property, the frequency of recommendations, intragenre ranking, consumer rating and review quantity.Design/methodology/approachSignaling theory was used to classify the mobile game information displayed on the Apple App Store into four groups. A conceptual model was proposed to illustrate the complex relationship between the information and download. Based on information on 203 mobile games in the seven days following their release, the model was empirically tested to identify the influence of information configuration on game download by combining fuzzy qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) and a fuzzy cognitive map (FCM).FindingsThree solutions were identified for high game download and two for low/medium. The number of previous games released by a publisher, intragenre ranking, consumer rating and review quantity are core conditions that reinforce high game download. The effects of one information type on another and on downloads change as coexisting information types change.Originality/valueThis study enriches existing knowledge about how combinations of multiple types of game information lead to game download and extends previous variance-based research. Combining an FCM with fsQCA can facilitate one’s understanding of the complex causal relationships between game information and download.

Neural Networks Involved in Spatial and Temporal Pattern Separation

Critical to episodic memory is pattern separation (PS), the storage of similar inputs as distinct and nonoverlapping. Spatial and temporal PS have been shown to be related to disparate subfields of the hippocampus (HC) in rodents. Extra-HC structures involved have not yet been elucidated. The current work provides an exploratory investigation into the neural correlates of spatial and temporal PS, employing functional magnetic resonance imaging and univariate and multivariate analysis techniques. In Experiment 1, behavioural spatial and temporal memory tasks were developed that assess varying PS demands. Objectives for the experiment were met, in that accuracy was lower and reaction time higher for conditions requiring more engagement of PS. In Experiment 2, whole-brain regions as well as the neural networks involved in spatial and temporal PS were examined, and functional connectivity of the HC was observed. Univariate data revealed unique areas of activation based on information type being encoded (i.e., spatial vs. temporal). The cuneus and HC were uniquely involved in the spatial task, while a wider area of regions including middle occipital and medial frontal areas were activated in the temporal task. Multivariate analyses were convergent with the spatial and temporal context memory literature. The HC, parahippocampal gyri, prefrontal cortices, and precuneus were part of a correlated network in the spatial task. Bilateral prefrontal cortices, including the orbitofrontal cortex were involved in the temporal task. Further, the multivariate analysis revealed qualitatively distinct networks based on memory processing stage (i.e., encoding vs. retrieval). Interestingly, the network included anterior HC in spatial encoding, and posterior HC in spatial and temporal retrieval, consistent with an influential theory positing a rostrocaudal gradient along the HC for encoding and retrieval. Functional connectivity analyses revealed connectivity of the posterior HC seed with temporal and superior parietal areas in the spatial task, and with frontal areas in the temporal task, suggesting the right posterior HC interacts with regions differently based on information type. Results confirm and extend findings from previous literature demonstrating HC involvement in PS, and also suggest HC and extra-HC involvement varies based on processing stage and information type.

Neural Networks Involved in Spatial and Temporal Pattern Separation

Critical to episodic memory is pattern separation (PS), the storage of similar inputs as distinct and nonoverlapping. Spatial and temporal PS have been shown to be related to disparate subfields of the hippocampus (HC) in rodents. Extra-HC structures involved have not yet been elucidated. The current work provides an exploratory investigation into the neural correlates of spatial and temporal PS, employing functional magnetic resonance imaging and univariate and multivariate analysis techniques. In Experiment 1, behavioural spatial and temporal memory tasks were developed that assess varying PS demands. Objectives for the experiment were met, in that accuracy was lower and reaction time higher for conditions requiring more engagement of PS. In Experiment 2, whole-brain regions as well as the neural networks involved in spatial and temporal PS were examined, and functional connectivity of the HC was observed. Univariate data revealed unique areas of activation based on information type being encoded (i.e., spatial vs. temporal). The cuneus and HC were uniquely involved in the spatial task, while a wider area of regions including middle occipital and medial frontal areas were activated in the temporal task. Multivariate analyses were convergent with the spatial and temporal context memory literature. The HC, parahippocampal gyri, prefrontal cortices, and precuneus were part of a correlated network in the spatial task. Bilateral prefrontal cortices, including the orbitofrontal cortex were involved in the temporal task. Further, the multivariate analysis revealed qualitatively distinct networks based on memory processing stage (i.e., encoding vs. retrieval). Interestingly, the network included anterior HC in spatial encoding, and posterior HC in spatial and temporal retrieval, consistent with an influential theory positing a rostrocaudal gradient along the HC for encoding and retrieval. Functional connectivity analyses revealed connectivity of the posterior HC seed with temporal and superior parietal areas in the spatial task, and with frontal areas in the temporal task, suggesting the right posterior HC interacts with regions differently based on information type. Results confirm and extend findings from previous literature demonstrating HC involvement in PS, and also suggest HC and extra-HC involvement varies based on processing stage and information type.

Comparison of attentional resource allocation to threat and selfrelevant information: An event-related potentials study

Although previous researchers have shown that attention is preferentially allocated during situations involving both threat and selfrelevant information, it is unclear which information type requires more cognitive resources. We compared the automatic processing of threat and self-relevant stimuli using the no-report oddball paradigm. Participants looked at images on a computer screen that displayed fighting with opponents or interacting with friends or customers. The body action of the person depicted was performed either toward the viewing participant or toward other people. Participants watched without making an explicit response, and event-related potentials were measured with electroencephalography. We found that threat (vs. selfrelevant) information elicited a larger P300 amplitude, and for nonthreatening events the P300 amplitude was larger for self-relevant than other-relevant stimuli. These results indicate that threat (vs. selfrelevant) information demands more cognitive resources, possibly because people prioritize survival.

Psychological readiness of undergraduates to work in professions of information type

In the article, a new – subject-informational type of professional activity is discussed on the example of a study of the professional orientation and psychological readiness for the future profession of magistrates studying in the specialties of information technology. It is noted that the sphere of information professions is expanding exponentially, and types of information activities are increasingly replacing traditional types. The psychological specificity of the subject-informational type of professional activity in the structure of the integrative psychological classification of labor, which reflects the co-organization of three relations is discussed (the subject of labor – the meta-subject of joint labor, the activity of the subject of labor – the meta-subject of labor, the subject environment of labor – the meta-subject environment of joint labor) into integral generalized psychological types that describe the requirements for the subject of informational activity. The results of studying the professional orientation of master students, as well as the structure of their psychological readiness to work in information-type professions are presented. The regularities of the formation of the components of such readiness, including academic motivation, tolerance to uncertainty and reflexivity, are described.