Magic or Mayhem? New Texts and New Literacies in Technological Times
The title of this session comes from a 1999 computer game, Magic and Mayhem. A highly literary fantasy/problem solving game drawing on myth and narratives ranging from Classical Greek to Arthurian. Initially a perfect choice for a curriculum designed around fantasy and popular culture, the game examplifies what it might means for literacy to be shifting in the direction of design (Kress and van Leeuin 1996. Kress 1995, New London group 1996 et al.). Yet, also characteristically, despite the enthusiasm of teachers workingin the project with which this paper is concerned, the game was ultimatly rejected as a textual choice because of age ratings and attendant fears. violence, panics, and community apprehensions about the anti-social and anti-literacy nature of games. ‘Magic and Mayhem’ speaks both to the possibilities and to the disruptiveness of linking literacy and curriculum with computer games.
A Psycho-Cultural Approach to Video Games
Jerome Bruner has helped to shape the notion of constructivism, which is of prime significance when looking at pedagogy in games and much of the learning that occurs in games is constructive. In one of his more recent works, “The Culture of Education” (1996), he discusses the importance of nine tenets to the development and maintenance of culture. Many of these touch on recurring themes in many discussions of games (Beavis, 1999; Kafai, 2001; Wolf & Perron, 2003). Bruner believes that “education is not an island, but part of the continent of culture.” (1996, p11) The same can be said of games. Bruner’s tenets guide such a ‘psycho-cultural’ approach to education and this paper will examine these tenets through the lens of game design.
Morphological characterization of Eustrongylides sp. larvae (Nematoda, Dioctophymatoidea) parasite of Rhinella marina (Amphibia: Bufonidae) from Eastern Amazonia.
Absctract Eustrongylides spp. nematodes have birds as final hosts and uses other vertebrates as intermediate/paratenic host (fish, amphibians and reptiles) and have zoonotic potential. In amphibians, the larvae may be located in the subcutaneous tissues, liver and mesentery, between the muscle fibres, especially in the lower limbs. Rhinella marina, which is widely observed in Brazil, has exhibited complex diversity in its helminth fauna, reflecting the unique habitat of the Amazon biome. For the first time, this study describes the morphological aspects of third-stage larvae of Eustrongylides sp. in Rhinella marina from Santa Cruz do Ararí, Marajó Archipelago, Eastern Amazonia, using light and scanning electron microscopy.