"Games are increasingly becoming the focus for research due to their cultural and economic impact on modern society. However, there are many different types of approaches and methods than can be applied to understanding games or those that play games. This book provides an introduction to various game research methods that are useful to students in all levels of higher education covering both quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods. In addition, approaches using game development for research is described. Each method is described in its own chapter by a researcher with practical experience of applying the method to topic of games. Through this, the book provides an overview of research methods that enable us to better our understanding on games."--Provided by publisher.

Game analysis allows us to understand games better, providing insight into the player-game relationship, the construction of the game, and its sociocultural relevance. As the field of game studies grows, videogame writing is evolving from the mere evaluation of gameplay, graphics, sound, and replayablity, to more reflective writing that manages to convey the complexity of a game and the way it is played in a cultural context. Introduction to Game Analysis serves as an accessible guide to analyzing games using strategies borrowed from textual analysis. Clara Fernández-Vara’s concise primer provides instruction on the basic building blocks of game analysis—examination of context, content and reception, and formal qualities—as well as the vocabulary necessary for talking about videogames' distinguishing characteristics. Examples are drawn from a range of games, both digital and non-digital—from Bioshock and World of Warcraft to Monopoly—and the book provides a variety of exercises and sample analyses, as well as a comprehensive ludography and glossary.

The existing literature currently available to students and researchers is very general, covering only the formal techniques of static analysis. This book presents real examples of the formal techniques called "abstract interpretation" currently being used in various industrial fields: railway, aeronautics, space, automotive, etc. The purpose of this book is to present students and researchers, in a single book, with the wealth of experience of people who are intrinsically involved in the realization and evaluation of software-based safety critical systems. As the authors are people currently working within the industry, the usual problems of confidentiality, which can occur with other books, is not an issue and so makes it possible to supply new useful information (photos, architectural plans, real examples).

Studying people’s lives requires acknowledging the multiple entanglements between individual singularity and processes of social patterning. This book testifies how challenging and creative the study of these connections can be. It gathers international contributions that show, in imaginative ways, how a person’s life or specific domains of existence can be observed, tackled, and analysed across time. This volume reveals the potential of biographical research in the production of social theory, in the development of methodological innovation, in giving voice and protagonism to people, and in the understanding of the social unfolding of their lives. It is a testimony of a vibrant and youthful field, with a long tradition in social sciences, and with numerous connections with other study areas, namely the life course approach. The different chapters illustrate how the challenges posed by this type of research focused on the individual level of analysis are particular and what creative responses are required to continue analysing the link between biography and society. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal Contemporary Social Science.

For the past several decades, Erhard Gerstenberger has been a leader in the study of the Psalms. These essays bring together some of the key contributions that both reflect on the history of interpretation and the path forward for research. Both the student and the experienced researcher will be enriched by the depth and clarity of perspective that Gerstenberger brings. Two of the essays appear here in English for the first time. Contents 1. The Lyrical Literature 2. Psalms 3. The Psalm Genres 4. Theologies in the Psalms 5. Modes of Communication with the Divine in the Hebrew Psalter 6. The Psalms and Ritual Praxis 7. Non-Temple Psalms: The Cultic Setting Revisited 8. The Psalter as Book and as Collection

In this long-awaited compendium of new and newly revised essays, Alison Wylie explores how archaeologists know what they know. Examining the history and methodology of Anglo-American archaeology, Wylie puts the tumultuous debates of the last thirty years in historical and philosophical perspective.

Research Methods for Operations and Supply Chain Management, third edition, is a toolkit of research approaches primarily for advanced students and beginner researchers, but also a reference book for any researcher in operations and supply chain management (OSCM). Many students begin their careers in research limited by the one or few approaches taken by their department. The concise, accessible overviews found here equip them with an understanding of a variety of methods and how to use them, enabling students to tailor their research project to their own strengths and goals. The more seasoned researcher will find comprehensive descriptions and analyses on a wide variety of research approaches. This updated and enhanced edition responds to the latest developments in OSCM, including the growing prominence of services and production of intangible products, the complete supply chain, and the increasing use of secondary data and of mixed approaches. Alternative research approaches are included and explored to help with the planning of research. This edition also includes expanded literature reviews and analysis to guide students towards the next steps in their reading, and more detailed step-by-step advice to tie theory with the research. Including contributions from an impressive range of the field’s leading thinkers in OSCM research, this is a guide that no one embarking on an OSCM research project should be without. Previous editions of this book were published under the title Research Methods for Operations Management and Researching Operations Management.

First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Now thoroughly updated and revised, this new edition of the highly acclaimed dictionary provides an authoritative and accessible guide to modern ideas in the broad interdisciplinary fields of cultural and critical theory Updated to feature over 40 new entries including pieces on Alain Badiou, Ecocriticism, Comparative Racialization , Ordinary Language Philosophy and Criticism, and Graphic Narrative Includes reflective, broad-ranging articles from leading theorists including Julia Kristeva, Stanley Cavell, and Simon Critchley Features a fully updated bibliography Wide-ranging content makes this an invaluable dictionary for students of a diverse range of disciplines