Resources for June 30, 2014

"History: Peace and Conflict Studies Archive." Dialogic Cinephilia (Ongoing Archive)

Figes, Orlando. "U.S.S.R. in the 1920s: The New Economic Policy." Lapham's Quarterly #60 (April 17, 2014)

Milton, Giles. "The History of British Spying in Revolutionary Russia." Lapham's Quarterly #61 (April 30, 2014)

Carlin, Dan. "The American Peril." Hardcore History #49 (July 5, 2013) ["Imperial temptations and humanitarian nightmares force the United States of the late 19th Century to confront the contradictions between its revolutionary self-image and its expanding national interests."]


Blue Gold: World Water Wars (USA: Sam Bozzo, 2008: 90 mins)


Kuersten, Erich. "The Hanged Man (CinemArchetypes #4)" Acidemic (February 12, 2012)

Halter, Ed. "Catastrophe Culture." Artforum (December 28, 2013)

O'Hehir, Andrew. "'Transformers': Robot warriors of the Tea Party attack." Salon (June 28, 2014)





gamification (NEW WORD ADDED for 2014) \gay-muh-fuh-KAY-shun\

noun: the process of adding games or gamelike elements to something (as a task) so as to encourage participation

EXAMPLES

"Establishing user identity opens the door for brands to create incentives for customers to keep coming back through interactive reward systems and loyalty programs like gamification. The ability to earn exclusive rewards for taking desired actions makes customers feel recognized and valued…." — Kevin White, Business2Community.com, May 23, 2014

"Users can pop open a dating app on a lunch break or at happy hour and scan for suitable matches in their free time…. There's also a gamification aspect: the delight of swiping through and discovering a match is something Tinder has accurately captured, and it makes it all feel like a game." — Lauren Hockenson, Gigaom, May 23, 2014

The basic concept of gamification isn't new, but the word itself is a 21st-century addition to the English lexicon. The word refers to the incorporation of game elements, like point and reward systems, to tasks as incentives for people to participate. In other words, "gamification" is about making something potentially tedious into a game. Gamification is effective because it taps into people's natural desires for competition and achievement. Teachers, managers, and others use gamification to increase participation and improve productivity. Gamification is also often an essential feature in apps and websites designed to motivate people to meet personal challenges, like weight-loss goals and learning foreign languages; tracking your progress is more fun if it feels like a game.