The 1980s saw an explosion in the use of the domestic video cassette recorder (VCR), arguably the most significant new form of home entertainment technology since television. In Video Playtime Ann Gray investigates what women themselves felt about the VCR, both in terms of the ways these entertainment facilities were used within their households, and what kinds of programmes and films they themselves particularly enjoyed. Ann Gray draws heavily on verbatim quotes from discussions to provide a rich description of different types of household micro-cultures and to give readers more direct access to the women themselves and the ways in which they accounted for their own experience. Video Playtime addresses questions of domestic technology as well as those of taste and cultural preference, particularly in relation to class, addressing the dynamics of power within existing social and cultural relations and thereby setting the analysis within a much wider social context.

Forty original contributions on games and gaming culture What does Pokémon Go tell us about globalization? What does Tetris teach us about rules? Is feminism boosted or bashed by Kim Kardashian: Hollywood? How does BioShock Infinite help us navigate world-building? From arcades to Atari, and phone apps to virtual reality headsets, video games have been at the epicenter of our ever-evolving technological reality. Unlike other media technologies, video games demand engagement like no other, which begs the question—what is the role that video games play in our lives, from our homes, to our phones, and on global culture writ large? How to Play Video Games brings together forty original essays from today’s leading scholars on video game culture, writing about the games they know best and what they mean in broader social and cultural contexts. Read about avatars in Grand Theft Auto V, or music in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. See how Age of Empires taught a generation about postcolonialism, and how Borderlands exposes the seedy underbelly of capitalism. These essays suggest that understanding video games in a critical context provides a new way to engage in contemporary culture. They are a must read for fans and students of the medium.

A research study was conducted to discover if leveraging content creators of Let's Play videos is an effective investment of marketing dollars for influencing purchasing decision. Before this study was conducted, it remained unknown in the scholarly literature if employing this marketing activity was truly an effective investment of marketing dollars by brands for positively influencing purchasing decisions. A mixed methods research study that applied the descriptive research design was able to ascertain if leveraging content creators of Let's Play videos is an effective investment of marketing dollars for influencing purchasing decision. This research study used an online survey questionnaire as the primary data collection instrument to garner responses from a sample group of 22 college students aged 19-22. To ensure the reliability of the survey instrument, the test-retest reliability was applied twice to the study. Additionally, the research study employed an online interview questionnaire as the secondary data collection instrument to garner responses from video game industry experts which further validated the study's findings with additional evidence-based research findings. The usage of triangulation methodology strengthened the validity of the research findings and allowed the researcher to investigate the phenomenon in much greater depth. The findings of the study ultimately showed that content creators of Let's Play videos positively influence the video game purchasing decisions of college students. The study was able to show how leveraging Let's Play videos as an emerging vehicle for influencer marketing and social media marketing can be a worthwhile investment of marketing dollars.

This essay sheds light on the different types of video game consoles that people can play video games on as a heroic character, demystifies the best type of video game console for people to play video games on as a heroic character, and reveals the benefits of playing video games as a heroic character on video game consoles.

At the heart of Making Play Just Right: Unleashing the Power of Play in Occupational Therapy is the belief that the most effective way to ensure pediatric occupational therapy is through incorporating play. The Second Edition is a unique resource on pediatric activity and therapy analysis for occupational therapists and students. This text provides the background, history, evidence, and general knowledge needed to use a playful approach to pediatric occupational therapy, as well as the specific examples and recommendations needed to help therapists adopt these strategies.

Unlock the door to financial success with "CREATING INCOME THROUGH VIDEO GAME PLAY" This extraordinary guide reveals the lucrative world of gaming and how you can turn your passion into a profitable venture. Imagine turning your gaming skills into a legitimate income source. This book is your ultimate roadmap to understanding the strategies and opportunities that await in the gaming industry. Inside these pages, you'll discover how to harness your gaming prowess to earn real money. From competitive eSports to streaming platforms, this guide will show you how to navigate the diverse avenues available for gamers to monetize their talents. Envision a future where you're not only having fun but also building your wealth through your favorite pastime. This book provides you with the insights and knowledge needed to strategically position yourself in the gaming world. Picture yourself as a successful gamer who not only dominates the virtual battlefield but also reaps the rewards in the form of actual income. This book equips you with the tools to understand the gaming landscape and make savvy decisions that can lead to financial gains. Whether you're a casual gamer or a dedicated enthusiast, "CREATING INCOME THROUGH VIDEO GAME PLAY" is your gateway to turning your passion into profit. Let this book be your guide as you embark on an exciting journey to earn money doing what you love most.

In an era of increasingly patient-centered healthcare, understanding how health and illness play out in social context is vital. This volume opens a unique window on the role of play in health and wellbeing in widely varied contexts, from the work of Patch Adams as a hospital clown, to an Australian facility for dementia treatment, to a New Zealand preschool after an earthquake, to a housing complex where Irish children play near home. Across these and other featured studies, play is shown to be shaman-like in its transformative dynamics, marshaling symbolic resources to re-align how patients construe and experience illness. Even when illness is not an issue, play promotes wellbeing by its power to reimagine, invigorate, enliven and renew through sensory engagement, physical activity, and symbolism. Play levels social barriers and increases flexible response, facilitating both shared social support and creative reassessment. This book challenges assumptions that play is inefficient and unproductive, with highly relevant evidence that playful processes actually work hard to dislodge unproductive approaches and thereby aid resilience. Solid research evidence in this book charts the course and opens the agenda for taking play seriously, for the sake of health. This book was originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Play.

While many books and articles are emerging on the new area of game studies and the application of computer games to learning, therapeutic, military, and entertainment environments, few have attempted to contextualize the importance of virtual play within a broader social, cultural, and political environment that raises the question of the significance of work, play, power, and inequalities in the modern world. Studies tend to concentrate on the content of virtual games, but few have questioned how power is produced or reproduced by publishers, gamers, or even social media; how social exclusion (based on race, class, or gender) in the virtual environment is reproduced from the real world; and how actors are able to use new media to transcend their fears, anxieties, prejudices, and assumptions. The articles presented by the contributors in this volume represent cutting-edge research in the area of critical game play with the hope of drawing attention to the need for more studies that are both sociological and critical.

An edited collection whose contributors analyze the relationship between writing, learning, and video games/videogaming, these essays consist of academic essays from writing and rhetoric teacher-scholars, who theorize, and contextualize how computer/video games enrich writing practices within and beyond the classroom and the teaching of writing.

This book offers a rich collection of international research narratives that reveal the qualities and value of peer play. It presents new understandings of peer play and relationships in chapters drawn from richly varied contexts that involve sibling play, collaborative peer play, and joint play with adults. The book explores social strategies such as cooperation, negotiation, playing with rules, expressing empathy, and sharing imaginary emotional peer play experiences. Its reconceptualization of peer play and relationships promotes new thinking on children's development in contemporary worlds. It shows how new knowledge generated about young children's play with peers illuminates how they learn and develop within and across communities, families, and educational settings in diverse cultural contexts. The book addresses issues that are relevant for parents, early years' professionals and academics, including the role of play in learning at school, the role of adults in self-initiated play, and the long-term impact of early friendships. The book makes clear how recent cultural differences involve digital, engineering and imaginary peer play. The book follows a clear line of argument highlighting the importance of play-based learning and stress the importance of further knowledge of children's interaction in their context. This book aims to highlight the narration of peer play, mostly leaning on a sociocultural theoretical perspective, where many chapters have a cultural-historical theoretical frame and highlight children's social situation of development. Polly Björk-Willén, Linköping University, Sweden