Free-to-play gamers' spending habits are crucial for game developers to generate revenue in games. The unique thing about free-to-play business model games is that players don't have to pay to play the game, but need to make in-game purchases if they want a better gaming experience. The users are diverse，the trend to personalise services for users based on their diversity has become unavoidable, but identifying user needs is a large and complex problem, so an in-depth understanding of players' spending behaviour in games is essential. This thesis assists researchers in addressing this issue by constructing a game user profile based on player consumption patterns. In order to build a profile of a game's users, a great amount of data needs to be collected. However, simply providing raw data may not be of value to the development. For this reason, this thesis explores a methodology for effectively analysing and communicating survey data. This methodology collects data from user surveys, analyses the data using the author's proposed logic for creating user profiles based on consumer behaviour, and uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to create a realistic game user profile. On this basis, through the application of the proposed logic, four categories of player consumption archetypes could be identified: players with Positive attitude(POSA), Moderate attitude (MODA), Reluctance attitude (RELA), and Negative attitude (NEGA). Subsequently, these archetypes could then be used to establish design guidelines for creating game mechanics and services to better encourage in-game purchases. However, as these methods have not been put into practice, the effectiveness of using them is open to question.

Venture capital (VC) plays an increasing role as part of the private equity asset class and the general investment continuum. The lack of transparency due to limited reportings and market data obstructs a concise view on VC investment value and performance. This thesis aims to shed some light on VC investment peculiarities and their effect in valuation terms. It primarily reflects on the implications of contractual rights on the investment value. In the first chapter, I present an approach to integrate the multi-perspective of VC investment and analyze the interaction effects of control and cash flow rights on the feasibility of follow-on funding based on the value position of investors. In the second chapter, I present a joint study by Prof. Dr. Schwetzler, Dr. Schreiter, Dr. Lodowicks and myself where we propose a valuation framework that is applied to a sample of primarily European ventures to derive investment level values and assess misvaluation when using simple heuristics instead. In the third chapter, a joint work by Dr. Schreiter, Dr. Lodowicks and myself is presented where we develop a prediction model that allows to derive more accurate estimates of VC investments.

An exploratory discourse analysis was performed on a community of practice based on Discord, an instant messaging platform. The community of practice is a group of gamers (people who play video games), dedicated to the cross-platform free-to-play game Genshin Impact. A corpus of messages was gathered from the community’s public message logs, which spanned a period of three days during the release of Genshin Impact’s most financially lucrative character banner. From the corpus, numerous themes in players’ discussions have been observed; such as reactions to the gacha’s probability system, displays of problem gaming, sexualization of female characters, and opinions regarding monetization & the game’s developers. This study would be beneficial for future studies that pertain to player behavior and gamer culture that can also use communities of practice on platforms such as Discord, in order to gain insight into niche communities of engaged users. / En utforskande diskursanalys utfördes på praxisgemenskapen baserad på Discord, en plattform för snabbmeddelanden. Praxisgemenskapen var en grupp spelare dedikerade till det plattformsoberoende gratisspelet Genshin Impact. En korpus av meddelanden samlades in från gemenskapens offentliga meddelandeloggar, som sträckte sig över en period av tre dagar under lanseringen av Genshin Impacts mest ekonomiskt lukrativa karaktärsbanner. Från korpusen har många teman i spelarnas diskussioner observerats; såsom reaktioner på gachas sannolikhetssystem, visningar av problemspelande, sexualisering av kvinnliga karaktärer och åsikter om intäktsgenerering samt spelets utvecklare. Framtida studier som avser spelarbeteende och gamerkultur kan också använda praxisgemenskaper på plattformar som Discord, för att få insikt i nischa gemenskaper av engagerade användare.

The Free-to-play (F2P) model is the primary business model applied in indie mobile games nowadays. However, the fact that less than 5% of players are paying is still a big problem for developers. There is a theoretical gap in understandings of how to increase revenue without lowering the quality of the game and deliver more valuable and better gaming experience for players. Some assumptions and empirical methods need to be verified. The aim of this research is to understand a series of specific design and development questions of F2P games, including game inner mechanics, game structures, and monetization strategies. We attempted to find consensus between developers and players. In addition, this research also sought to find out how F2P mobile game can provide as a comprehensive service in order. It sought to find a sustainable and profitable business model for each game by integrating monetization organically inside of the game without sacrificing players’ enjoyment. We used a mixed methods research approach, including both interviews and surveys, to examine the opinions and behavior of developers and players based on the Acquisition-Retention-Monetization funnel.

Bakgrund: Hjärnskakning i idrott är vanligt och det finns etablerade riktlinjer för identifiering, hantering och rehabilitering. För tidig återgång till idrott kan medföra risker. Kvalitativ forskning om idrottares upplevelser och erfarenheter av och om idrottsrelaterad hjärnskakning har ej påträffats. Syfte: Att undersöka hjärnskakningsdrabbade idrottares upplevelser och erfarenheter om hjärnskakning inom idrott samt återgång till idrottsaktivitet efter skadehändelsen. Metod: Data insamlades från fem idrottare med hjälp av semistrukturerade intervjuer som analyserades med hjälp av innehållsanalys. Resultat: I studien framkom tre teman; ”Föranledd vårdkontakt”, ”Motiverande och hindrande faktorer för återgång till idrott”, samt ”Resonemang kring hjärnskakning” som innefattade bland annat att idrottarna upplevde undermålig information från vården gällande återgång till idrott efter hjärnskakning och att tränare hade bristande kunskap om omhändertagande vid idrottsskada. Idrottarna uppfattade ett behov av ökad kunskap. Stöttning och förståelse för idrottarens situation från omgivningen påverkade positivt för återgång medan press och rädsla för en ny hjärnskakning hämmade. Konklusion: Föreliggande studie har uppnått syftet att undersöka hjärnskakningsdrabbade idrottares upplevelser och erfarenheter om hjärnskakning samt återgång. Resultaten ökar förståelsen för idrottare som råkar ut för hjärnskakning i idrottssammanhang. Ytterligare forskning behövs för att bilda uppfattning om läget av idrottsrelaterad hjärnskakning i Sverige. / Background: Concussion in sport is common and there are established guidelines for identification, management and rehabilitation. Premature return to play may be dangerous. Qualitative research on athletes' experiences on sport-related concussion has not been found. Objective: To examine concussed athletes' perceptions and experiences about concussion in sports and return to play after their concussion. Method: Data was collected from five athletes using semi-structured interviews and was analyzed through content analysis. Results: Three themes emerged; "Cause for health care", "Motivations and hindrances on return to play", and "Reasoning about concussion”. They included for instance that athletes experienced poor information from health institutions regarding return to play, and coaches had insufficient knowledge of sport-injury management. The athletes perceived a need for increased knowledge. Support and understanding for the athlete's situation had a positive impact on the return to play while pressure and fear of a new concussion inhibited return to play. Conclusion: The objective to examine concussed athletes' perceptions and experiences about concussion in sports and return to play, has been achieved. The results increase our understanding for athletes who sustain concussions in sports. Further research is needed to form an estimation of ​​the extent of sports-related concussions in Sweden.

Nesta pesquisa, objetivou-se discutir o tema brinquedoteca hospitalar, como um recurso para a humanização da assistência à saúde nos hospitais pediátricos que atendem crianças em regime de internação. Tendo, como objetivo principal, verificar a situação da brinquedoteca hospitalar na cidade de São Paulo, antes e após a Lei n. 11.104/2005 que obriga a instalação desse equipamento, considerando como hipótese de pesquisa a necessidade de que a Lei seja ampliada, inserindo a presença do profissional do brincar na brinquedoteca hospitalar para garantir o bom funcionamento desse espaço. No procedimento metodológico, qualificado como pesquisa qualitativa, foi utilizada a revisão integrativa da literatura, sendo analisados os dados de 324 trabalhos publicados no Brasil; e 43, no exterior, no período de 1994 a 2014. Efetuou-se uma pesquisa exploratória em 20 brinquedotecas de hospitais internacionais, a fim de verificar como funcionam as brinquedotecas fora do Brasil, fez-se uma pesquisa de campo, sendo aplicado um questionário em 11 profissionais que atuam em brinquedotecas na cidade de São Paulo e adicionalmente, uma atividade exploratória de escuta das crianças em situação de brincar. Os resultados mostram que a maior parte das pesquisas nacionais e internacionais voltadas para o brincar na saúde estão concentradas na área da Enfermagem. Os dados das pesquisas em brinquedotecas internacionais apontam que há uma preocupação na diversidade de atividades lúdicas para o acolhimento da criança. Após análise dos resultados provenientes da investigação in loco, verificou-se que há necessidade de formação dos profissionais para atuarem nas brinquedotecas hospitalares paulistanas e de reconhecimento destes espaços como parte inerente ao tratamento das crianças hospitalizadas. As vozes das crianças evidenciam o maior propósito da existência da brinquedoteca que é o direito de brincar no hospital. Observou-se que, após a Lei 11.104/2005, apesar do aumento do número de brinquedotecas instaladas, na cidade de São Paulo, esses espaços foram-se constituindo de maneira inadequada para atender as necessidades da infância e ser de fato uma estratégia de humanização. Os achados nesta pesquisa apontam a necessidade de ampliar o texto da Lei 11.104/2005 e fazer cumprir integralmente o direito da criança brincar no hospital. / The research focused on discussing toy libraries in hospitals as an asset for compassionate healthcare in pediatric hospitals with long-term children patients. The main objective is to determine the situation of hospital toy libraries in the city of Sao Paulo before and after the Federal Law n. 11.104/2005 which states their implementation as mandatory, considering as a research hypothesis that this law should be broadened so as to include the presence of a toy library specialist, a play professional at the toy library to guarantee its full and fair use. With regards to methodology, the research is categorized as qualitative and it used a full integrative literature review, analyzing 324 published essays or books in Brazil and 43 abroad, ranging from 1994 to 2014. An exploratory research was conducted in 20 toy libraries in international hospitals to determine how toy libraries work outside Brazil. In national territory a field research was conducted with the use of a questionnaire filled in by 11 professionals who work in toy libraries in Sao Paulo and, finally, an exploratory activity to listen to childrens opinion about the play situation was also conducted. The results show that the majority of national and international researches aimed at understanding play in healthcare contexts are concentrated in the area of Nursery. Research data in international toy libraries show a concern about a diversity in play activities for children. After analyzing the results from the in loco research it was clear that there is a real demand for professional education for the staff who work at toy libraries in Sao Paulo and also the perception of such spaces as an inherent part of hospitalized childrens treatment. The voices of the children make it evident that the purpose of the existence of the toy library is the right to play in the hospital context. It was observed that after the implementation of the Federal Law n. 11.104/2005, despite the increase on the number of installed toy libraries in the city of Sao Paulo, such spaces were constituted in an inadequate way in terms of supplying the demands of childhood and being an effective compassionate healthcare strategy. The findings on this research demonstrate that broadening the text of the Federal Law n. 11.104/2005 is needed and it to make the childrens right to play at the hospital integral.

Apresenta pesquisa centrada no seguinte problema: em que medida a política de educação integral em construção na Zona Oeste do município de São Paulo contribui para as oportunidades de exercício do direito de brincar das crianças atendidas? As condições ou requisitos estipulados para favorecimento das oportunidades de brincar foram: minimizar constrangimentos relativos ao atendimento escolar à infância e favorecer o acesso das crianças ao convívio em espaços informais e não controlados. A hipótese priorizada na investigação foi a de que esta política está contribuindo para com o aumento das oportunidades de brincar das crianças. Dentre as obras utilizadas para situar a abordagem, destacam-se as contribuições da sociologia da infância e os mais recentes aportes à análise de programas de educação integral no Brasil. A política educacional analisada conta com quatro diferentes instâncias: o programa Mais Educação do Ministério da Educação; os programas Mais Educação São Paulo e São Paulo Integral, ambos da Secretaria Municipal de Educação de São Paulo; e a proposta da Diretoria Regional de Educação Butantã intitulada Educação integral para uma São Paulo educadora. O foco do trabalho foi a verificação da proposta conceitual e operacional das políticas em questão, suas eventuais iniciativas que indicassem contribuir para a minimização daqueles constrangimentos e sua repercussão em quatro escolas selecionadas segundo critérios previamente estabelecidos. Os procedimentos de coleta de informações foram entrevistas semiestruturadas com ocupantes de funções técnicas e autoridades da Diretoria de Educação e de órgãos superiores da Secretaria e com equipes escolares, além de imersões no cotidiano daquelas escolas na perspectiva do pesquisador conversador proposta por Spink. Pretendeu-se a identificar os pontos de vista diferentes atores presentes, inclusive as crianças. A pesquisa conclui que aquela política de educação integral tem contribuído para aumentar as oportunidades de brincar das crianças atendidas, ainda que em poucos aspectos e de forma tímida. / The present article provides a research focused on the following issue: to what extent shall the drawn up integral education policy held in western zone of São Paulo contribute to the attending children exercise the right of playing opportunities? The laid down conditions or requirements to promote playing opportunities were: to reduce early childhood schooling constraints and to facilitate childrens access to non-controlled and informal interacting areas. The prioritized research hypothesis is that this policy contributes to increase the childrens opportunities with regards to exercising the right of playing. In order to place the approach, several pieces of work were used, among which stand out the contribution of childhood sociology and the latest inputs in Brazils integral education programs analysis. The analyzed educational policy takes place in four different instances: the More Education Program, by the Ministry of Education; More Education São Paulo and Integral São Paulo Programs, by the Municipal Secretariat of Education of São Paulo; and Butantãs Regional Board of Education, entitled Integral Education for an Educational São Paulo. The study aimed at verifying the conceptual and operational proposal of the policies in question, their potential measures that would indicate a contribution on those constraints decrease and its impact on four schools selected based on pre-defined criteria. The data collection procedures were semistructured interviews with technicians and Board of Education and Secretariat Governing Bodies authorities and with school groups, besides an everyday living experience within those schools on the conservative researcher perspective proposed by Spink. The study intended to identify different existing actors points of view, including the children. The research draws the conclusion that the mentioned integral education policy has been contributing to increase the attending childrens playing opportunities, even though in a few aspects and in a slightly way.

Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-21T20:31:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Najela Tavares.pdf: 3728246 bytes, checksum: c0b7f20d3af827d2249a7391a18ef831 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-03-31 / This research had as main objective to understand and to analyze the implementation of the educational politics in institutions of Infantile Education occurred in Irati, State of the Paraná. It considered also the paper of the playful action/ludic and playing in the conceptions of its professionals and implications in its educative practical. To carry through this study we understand that the personal development, social and intellectual of the individual occurs from the appropriation of knowledge and the teach-learning processes, inserted in a partner-cultural context. This way, the work understands a qualitative research with theoretical methodological multi-referential focus that it encloses: literature revision,documentary analysis, interviews with the municipal coordinator of the Infantile Education and with twelve coordinators of Centro Municipal de Educação Infantil (CMEIs), also focal group with twelve infancy educators of the iratiense net. In view of the literature revision and documentary analysis, we can conclude that the playful/ludic element has presence guaranteed in the national infantile educational legislation, however, does not get materiality in the municipal educative and pedagogical proposal, that constituent fragility of the net and the professionals involved. The caught data by interview, with the coordinators had been organized from analysis categories: formation, identity, infancy, educative practical and conceptions of the playful action/ludic and playing. These data had been demonstrated that the playful action is getting importance in the effective speech, but are far from having a clear conceptualization, that favors the theoretic-practical transposition. With regard to the collected data, by focal group, they had been organized in general subjects that had emerged in interviews with the coordinators, and had been structured in: teaching professionality in Infantile Education; formation and identity of infancy being educator; Infantile Education educative practical and the child; playful action and the Infantile Education. In the perspective of the infancy educators, with regard to the exercise of its teaching professionality, it lacks conditions of work, physical and material structure, worthy valuation, wages, incentive, support and pedagogical investment to formation. In this way, they judge that it does not have infrastructure, physical conditions and material for valuation of the playful action amongst the children taken care for the net. Same time, they try to have playing as integrant part of the educative practical, either with scrap iron, fantasy tales, folk songs or traditional tricks. However, exactly with the precarious picture, there’s no doubt that playing have a hard importance in the educative practical for Infantile Education institutions, to transmission of the adult culture and the production of infantile culture. This way, it is essential that in the iratiense net of Municipal Infantile Education could to value the playful action, the infancy education, the professionals who act next to the little children and practical educative. It is with this intention that we finish the research, waiting that could be the starting point to materialize the playful action to children and adults in context of that this inquiry was part. / Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo principal compreender e analisar como ocorreu a implementação da política educacional nas instituições de Educação Infantil de Irati, no interior do Estado do Paraná, e qual o papel da ação lúdica e do brincar nas concepções de seus profissionais e implicações nas suas práticas educativas. Para realizar esse estudo partimos do pressuposto de que o desenvolvimento pessoal, social e intelectual do indivíduo ocorre a partir da apropriação de conhecimentos e dos processos de ensino-aprendizagem, inseridos num contexto sócio-cultural. Assim, este trabalho compreende uma pesquisa qualitativa com foco teórico-metodológico multirreferencial que abrange: revisão de literatura, análise documental, entrevistas com a coordenadora municipal da Educação Infantil e com as doze coordenadoras de Centros Municipais de Educação Infantil (CMEIs) e, grupo focal com doze educadoras da infância da rede iratiense. Tendo em vista a revisão de literatura e análise documental, podemos concluir que o elemento lúdico tem presença garantida na legislação educacional infantil nacional, entretanto, não ganha materialidade na proposta educativa e pedagógica municipal, por uma fragilidade constitutiva da rede e dos profissionais implicados com a Educação Infantil. Os dados, captados via entrevista com as coordenadoras, foram organizados a partir de categorias de análise: formação, identidade, infância, prática educativa e concepções da ação lúdica: o brincar. Estes dados demonstram que o lúdico ganha importância no discurso vigente, mas está longe de ter uma conceituação clara, que favoreça a transposição teórico-prática. Com relação aos dados coletados, via grupo focal, foram organizados com base em temas geradores, que emergiram das entrevistas com as coordenadoras,e estiveram estruturados em: profissionalidade docente na Educação Infantil:formação e identidade do ser educadora da infância; prática educativa na Educação Infantil e a criança; e, o lúdico e a Educação Infantil. Na perspectiva das educadoras da infância, com relação ao exercício de sua profissionalidade docente, faltam condições de trabalho, estrutura física e material,valorização,salários dignos, incentivo, apoio e investimento pedagógico e de formação. Deste modo, julgam que não há infra-estrutura, condições físicas e materiais para valorização da ludicidade dentre as crianças atendidas pela rede, mesmo assim, buscam ter o brincar presente como parte integrante da prática educativa, seja este com sucata, faz-de-conta, cantigas de roda ou brincadeiras tradicionais. Contudo, mesmo com o quadro de precariedade, não resta dúvida de que o brincar é de suma importância na prática educativa das instituições de educação Infantil,para a transmissão da cultura do adulto e para a produção de cultura infantil.Nesse sentido, é imprescindível que na Rede Municipal de Educação Infantil iratiense seja revisto o valor do lúdico, o valor da educação da infância, o valor das profissionais que atuam junto às crianças pequenas, o valor da prática educativa. É com este intento que finalizamos a pesquisa, esperando que esta seja ponto de partida para materializar a ação lúdica junto às crianças e adultos do contexto do qual esta investigação fez parte.

The purpose of this thesis is to determine the importance of transformational leadership in the social sector. Transformational leadership is a theory of behaviors and attributes focused on the relationship between leaders and followers of a group or organization (Avolio, 1999; Bass & Avolio, 1990a). It involves four factors: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. In order to gain more insight into leadership in some of the most high-impact and innovative social sector organizations, the research consists of interviews and case studies on five of the ten recipients of the Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership. Having been internationally recognized for bold, visionary leadership, the recipients of the Kravis Prize in Leadership demonstrate the skills and practices deemed integral to the individual, team, and organizational success. The research focused on the behaviors, quotes, and publications that alluded to the inherent factors of transformational leadership within the organizations and their leaders from Landesa, INJAZ, Right To Play, Escuela Nueva, and mothers2mothers. The findings revealed a great deal of transformational leadership weaved throughout the behaviors and principles of the organization’s leaders and followers alike. Organizations like INJAZ and its Executive Director, Soraya Salti, personified transformational leadership, displaying numerous examples of behaviors from each of the four components (idealized influence, inspirational motivation, individualized consideration, and intellectual stimulation). Each individual studied personified several, if not all components of transformational leadership. In conclusion of the research and case studies of some of the worlds most high impact organizations, it can be summarized that transformational leadership is an effective strategy to employ in the social sector and is one of the most prevalent common threads amongst high impact nonprofit organizations.

This qualitative case study explored the effectiveness of the Right To Play Learning to Play: Playing to Learn (Playbook) educational resource on fostering social responsibility in a single class of grade six/seven boys and girls. A secondary objective of this study was to examine the teacher’s perceptions of the sustainability of the Playbook as an effective educational resource. Data collection methods included semi-structured student and teacher interviews, samples of the student’s work and course materials, teacher journal entries and observational field notes. Data were analyzed using constant comparison. Findings suggested that the Playbook learning activities provided the students with opportunities to practice building positive relationships, communicate in various forms, develop cooperation and teamwork skills and recognize and discuss issues of social justice. Comments and journal entries made by the teacher highlighted the Playbook as being a sustainable resource. / Graduate