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freestyler-universe-blog · 8 years ago

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War + Armies + Strategy + Time + Energy = WASTE. Week 10 Social Gaming

Greetings Castaways,

The title of this blog should really give you an indication of my thoughts regarding online social gaming. I’m not a fan, at all. And I say this having experienced the crazy world of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) for myself. Even the name of the genre takes too long to say! Yes I have dipped my toe into that murky world and it was not a pleasant experience.

Here’s the thing. Gaming is supposed to be fun right? What’s not to like about building your dream civilisation, creating armies, waging war and conquering the world? I tell you. Having other more experienced/anally retentive/obsessive/psychopathic gamers berate you for being a noob. And I’m not alone!! Talking to a colleague he related a story of his MMORPGs experience where he says he was told his game performance was crap and that they wished he would get cancer and die! What?? Seriously?

Given my personal and somewhat negative experience I was interested to read some research that found 75%+ of males and females developed strong friendships whilst playing MMORPGs and that the genre is highly socially interactive (Cole & Griffiths, 2007). Ok, I get that. But my experience was so different and I was sure there must be research out there to back me up. Entre Peters & Malesky (2008) who found a correlation with the amount of time playing MMORPGs and players experiencing problems in their lives. More interestingly was the revelation that players may spend more time playing so they can avoid the real world in which they lack relational and social skills!

Now add to this the veil of anonymity the interwebs provide and you’ve got people out there who say stuff online they wouldn’t dare say in real life. But why so much aggression? Is it addiction? Is it personal overinvestment? Some people are just way too uptight. It’s a game people and you’re not playing for sheep stations (that’s an old man’s saying right there). So why would I sit and play a MMORPG just to open myself up to abuse? The answer is that I wouldn’t. After that first experience I have never gone back and never intend to again. Plus I wouldn’t want to end up being so absorbed by playing a game that I end up acting like the guy in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=140q5ouj_Qw

Peace ;~}

#mda20009 #gaming

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freestyler-universe-blog · 8 years ago

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Tagging/Being Tagged on Facebook - I've Got the Power! Week 9

Greetings castaways,

Welcome back to my island, my peaceful place, my fortress of solitude. What I like about my island is that I am the master of my domain. This is my island and what I say goes. I am the captain, the chief, the Presidente! This island may not be large or much to look at, but it is mine and I am in control. Ah control. I choose what happens here. I choose what pictures, gifs or words are displayed. I decide what order to put them in or how they look. I am in control and I like it!

There are other places however where I feel I am not in control. And hence we journey once again to the land of Facebook where control is, well, relative. Oh we like to think we are in control, have control or exert control, but sadly I have discovered that many, including myself, do not have as much control as we think in FB Land.

Here’s the thing. For those of us who use FB, we often give our ‘friends’ some of our control without realising it. Now I have, and this is in no way meant to be bragging, 765 ‘friends’. There is no way that I am friends with all of these ‘friends’. At best I have 700 vicarious acquaintances, 30 or so people I know, 20 or so people I know well and 15ish people who I truly count as friends. Why is it then that I give all 765 ‘friends’ the power to post pictures or videos of me and then TAG me in them for the rest of the 765 ‘friends’ to gawk at? There is a tension here

I have personally been tagged by others in pictures, posts and videos, without my permission may I add, and I can honestly say I don’t like it. It irks me! Why should others have control of my image and have the power to share that image with others? What if I was unaware that the image/video was taken? What if the image is unflattering, compromising, distasteful or taken out of context? One of my ‘friends’ could post this and tag me for all of FB Land to see! And I would be powerless to stop it. Therein lays the tension.

I think many people have an issue with being tagged because they feel they have no control over what is being posted. I know I have felt powerless and annoyed that another person has used/displayed my image without my consent. The decision to post or display was taken from me. In the current online culture, where many go to great lengths to sculpt a perfect digital image/presence, a lack of image/persona control can be seen as disastrous.

Well thank goodness for this blog topic because it got me researching. And it turns out I am not powerless. I realise I am old and that there are some reading this who are scolding me that I obviously have no idea about FB privacy settings! But you also know I am not alone in this. My research has shown me that I do indeed have control. In fact I have changed my FB privacy settings so that now I can review posts that I have been tagged in before they go on my Timeline.

It may have taken some time and this subject (#mda20009) to get me thinking but at least now I feel like the power is back in my hands. And for those wondering, yes I tag others in my posts, but only people I’m close to and only with their permission. Do unto others as you would have done to you right?

Peace.

#mda20009

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freestyler-universe-blog · 8 years ago

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Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your posts! Crowdsourcing - Week8

Crowd sourcing

For a very broad definition, we could say that crowdsourcing is 'the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community rather than from traditional employees or suppliers' (Merriam Webster Online 2014)

Greetings Castaways,

It always warm the cockles of me heart to hear and see the interwebs being used for the purposes of good, especially in times of crisis in response to a tragic event. The idea of crowdsourcing to bring about a positive collective outcome resonates within me. The internet and social media are such powerful tools and in the hands of the right people they can bring about good.

I like the definition provided in this week’s concepts that crowdsourcing is more than just gathering together physical resources or services but also the collection and distribution of ideas or solutions. It’s understanding and tapping into the wealth of collective knowledge, thought and action. And social media is the perfect vehicle to deliver this knowledge to the world!

Very recent and unfortunate events in Western Australia really highlight how the social media use of a collective set of individuals can be used to help find answers. On Australia Day, in front of thousands of spectators, a plane crashed into the Swan River resulting in the deaths of two people. As this ‘Skyshow’ was being witnessed and recorded by many people, vision of the crash hit social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook almost instantly. Now at first I was a little perturbed by how quickly people wanted to ‘share’ the macabre spectacle. It was a horrifying scene and people seemed so eager to get it out there and it felt disrespectful.

However, in following media reports I overheard a commentator suggest that in terms of the ensuing crash investigation, investigators would have a gold mine of information from the plethora of video footage taken of the event. It was in fact reported in the Sydney Morning Herald that the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) was actively seeking witness statements and any video footage to aid the investigation. Judging from the amount of footage that has since appeared on social media and various news sites, investigators will have plenty of footage to pore over.

Another great story I came across that showed people using the interwebs for good, was a project out of the University of Pennsylvania involving crowdsourcing and improving Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) awareness and access. The project requested people send in pictures and the locations of know AEDs. Thousands responded and with the help of a little geo mapping and app development, MyHeartMap was created. This shows the location of hundreds of AEDs and being a First Aider myself – wow, what a great idea.

With so much negativity in the virtual world and so many dodgy digital citizens floating around, it’s good to focus on those who are out to do something positive for the good of humanity. It might sound fluffy and sweet but it is what it is.

Here’s the thing. What I’m coming to realise is that social media is like a musical instrument. The instrument has no power in of itself. The power is in the hands of the one who plays it and it can be a sweet sound or a horrible dirge. Let’s choose to listen to the sweet sounds more often.

Peace!

Allan-Petale, D 2017, ‘Perth Shyshow plane tragedy probe a logistical nightmare’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 27 January, viewed 27 January 2017, http://www.smh.com.au/wa-news/perth-skyshow-plane-tragedy-investigation-a-huge-logistical-exercise-20170127-gu0120.html.

Ciufetelli, I 2014, ‘SUMR Blog’, Crowdsourcing and Social Media in Times of Crisis, 11 August 2014, viewed 27 January 2017, http://ldi.upenn.edu/sumr/blog/2014/08/11/crowdsourcing-and-social-media-in-times-of-crisis.

Merriam-Webster 2017, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, viewed 27 January 2017, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crowdsourcing

University of Pennsylvania 2011, My Heart Map Challenge, University of Pennsylvania, viewed 28 January 2017, http://www.med.upenn.edu/myheartmap/index.html.

#mda20009

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freestyler-universe-blog · 8 years ago

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Governing Cyberspace - that ship has sailed! Week 7

Hello castaways and welcome back. While I left the island for some well-deserved R&R I have come back to you now to once again chew on the important digital community issues. Shall we once again gnaw on the bones of the interwebs for those last morsels of e-truth and be edified and made whole? Or should we just lie back on the beach of apathy and quietly sip the Kool Aid the internet would love us to consume. Nah! Let’s eat!

The horse has bolted, the train has left the station and Elvis has left the building! And for all accounts we didn’t seem to see it coming. Who knew the internet wouldn’t be just a passing craze? Who knew the internet could get so unfathomably huge? Who knew the internet could be used for evil instead of good?? Surely someone, somewhere at some time had at least the slightest inkling that the interwebs would have the potential for all sorts of crazy (bad) stuff. Surely there must have been a few that looked into the vastness of cyberspace and thought ‘Ooh this could be bad’. Well I’m sure there were and they apparently didn’t bother to tell anyone.

http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/1604661/missed_the_boat.jpg

I’m a parent of teenagers. While I may be inherently uncool because I am old, this does mean that I am ignorant of the current digital climate. It may be warm and sunny here on my digital island but one look to the horizon reveals plenty of raging storms. And as a parent, watching my teen’s navigate the digital ocean in the personal little e-boats, well that scares the hell out me! Forget about cyber terrorism, cyber-crime or cyber war. I’m worried about cyber bullying and cyber stalking!

http://pictures.4ever.eu/cartoons/digital-art/sailing-boat-154545

These e-boats I mentioned are social media/networks. They are tools that enable my kids to explore the digital seas. To interact, view, create and experience the vastness of cyberspace. But here’s the thing. To me it seems there are no maritime laws that govern this digital sea. There is no Coast Guard, no navy. There might be Water Police but they have their hands full dealing with the ships of cyber terrorism, crime and war. Who is looking out for my kids in their little e-boats??? Who is helping them navigate to be safe and protected? I feel like I’m calling out from the shore, telling them to watch out, steer clear of the rocks, be safe and be responsible. I fear the noise of this digital ocean drowns out my voice and they are vulnerable.

I know that there are laws that govern online behaviour but they just seem so weak and ineffective. Any laws we have are reactionary and seem to be forever lagging behind the ever evolving internet. Sites like the Australian Government’s eSafety website are informative and even motivational. The trouble is I didn’t know it even existed until this particular week’s ereadings. Why didn’t I know about this before? The fault is mine for not being proactive and searching for this stuff myself. It would have been nice to get a heads up from my kid’s school, or some government department, but it’s my responsibility to know. And I didn’t. Shame on me.

Until we meet again.

#mda20009

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freestyler-universe-blog · 8 years ago

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Clicktivism vs. Slacktivism - Feeling good about doing something by not actually doing anything.

‘Clicktivism is to Activism as McDonalds is to a slow cooked meal’ (Regan, C 2015)

Having a social conscience can be difficult. Just look around our world, our country, our cities, our neighbourhoods or even your own street. There are so many worthy causes, injustices, inequalities that are worthy of our consideration. I say consideration because in western society, that is all some people are willing to give to social causes. But, if one is blessed/cursed with having a social conscience, then one might find themselves motivated to move beyond considering and in to action. And action equals cost. Doing something, giving something, fighting for or against something is all effort and a cost to personal time, energy, resources (emotional, monetary or otherwise).

If only there was a way to do something about the world and its issues but was relatively low in personal cost. Is there some way of showing that I care about causes/issues/injustices but doesn’t interrupt my life or cost me very little? And, is there a way to help me feel better about myself and look good to others at the same time? Yes! Yes there is.

Clicktivism. While new to my vocabulary, clicktivism has been around for quite a while. It relates the promotion of a cause through the use of social media or other online methods (PR Newswire, 2011). However, this definition is a tad narrow according to Clicktivist who maintain its more about facilitating social change and activism through the use of digital media (2016). When I read this all I can think of Greenpeace on Facebook. I know it’s more than that but all it says to me is there is great potential for me to be an armchair activist, just as with the Olympics when I can be an armchair sportsman or an armchair politician.

Let it be known I fully acknowledge the influencing role social media has played in the great social upheavals of our time like the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street and more recently Brexit. There is no doubt social media tools have augmented social action – that is people motivated to action that cost them their time and energy. However, according to Techopedia (2016) there are those who believe that clicktivism lessens activism to a simple click of the mouse, resulting in little or no tangible engagement or connection to the cause. My ire is directed to those who want all the ‘feel good’ and kudos of supporting a cause without really doing anything that costs them.

Behold the rise of the ‘Slacktivist’. A term used to describe the “disconnect between awareness and action through the use of social media” (Glenn, 2015). The word disconnect is powerful here because it also applies to our unique human ability to disconnect emotionally and physically from the issues, causes and injustices that surround us every day. We simply tune out because it all just gets a bit too hard. I should know because I’ve done it numerous times and I continue to do it! I’m sure (hope) there are those reading this and you’re secretly acknowledging that you have signed an online petition, like a Facebook group or page or retweeted or liked someone’s twitter post. I get it. It’s easy, quick and instant. You are not alone.

Here’s the thing. On one hand there are those critical of armchair Slacktivism. Andy Park (2013) from SBS’s The Feed discussed the success of several high profile social awareness campaigns and the associated disproportionate actual difference this awareness made in the real life actions of participants. While we can feel like it’s job done just by liking, sharing or retweeting, the reality is time, money and effort (personal cost) that gets things done (Park, 2013).

On the other hand, there is research that suggests that there is real power in slacktivism. A study of Twitter activity during the Occupy Wall Street movement showed the online engagement of those who even just retweeted once, help create a “network effect [that] made the actions of just a few active protestors visible to millions of people, all over the world” (Groetzinger, 2015). This relationship between activist and Slacktivist in this context seemed instrumental in the movement gaining traction (Groetzinger, 2015).

What about you? Are you motivated to take up your placard, mass together with others of like mind and storm the gates of the corporate bully man? Or are you more inclined to sit back and let your tweeting do the talking. Either way, from my perspective it’s more important to engage in some way big or small, active or passive than to not engage at all. But before you settle on just retweeting or liking a post to feel good about doing something, watch this Swedish TV commercial from UNICEF. In a world of so many issues and causes, there has never been a better and more technologically advantageous time for people to do something that will actually make this world a better place.

References

Clicktivist 2016, Clicktivist: Digital Campaigning, One Click at a Time, Clicktivist, viewed 14 December 2016, http://www.clicktivist.org/what-is-clicktivism/.

Glenn, C, L 2015, ‘Activism or “Slacktivism?”: Digital Media and Organizing for Social Change’, Communication Teacher, vol. 29, no. 2, viewed 13 December 2016, http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17404622.2014.1003310?scroll=top&needAccess=true

Groetzinger, K 2015, Slacktivism is having a powerful real-world impact, new research shows, Quartz, 10 December, viewed 14 December 2016, http://qz.com/570009/slacktivism-is-having-a-powerful-real-world-impact-new-research-shows/

Michael, S 2016, ‘the rise of the Slacktivist’ [image], in Trend Hunter, viewed 15 December 2016, http://cdn.trendhunterstatic.com/thumbs/rise-of-the-slacktivist-infographic.jpeg

Park, A 2013, Clicktivism: Why social media is not good for charity, SBS, viewed 13 December 2016, http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/11/18/clicktivism-why-social-media-not-good-charity

Regan, C 2015, Motion: Social media ‘clicktivism’ creates more apathy than empathy, Development Education, viewed 13 December 2016, http://www.developmenteducation.ie/debates/clicktivism/

Techopedia 2016, Clicktivism, Techopedia, viewed 12 December 2016, https://www.techopedia.com/definition/28184/clicktivism

UNICEF Sverige 2013, Likes don’t save lives, 23 April, viewed 14 December 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_M0SDk3ZaM.

#mda20009 #slacktivist #clicktivism

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freestyler-universe-blog · 8 years ago

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Social Media - The new political battleground or just a sandpit for squabbling grownups?

Greetings fellow castaways

In light of the recent political hullabaloo from across the Pacific, and the continued social media scrimmaging among certain personalities and political figures, I have to say I’m a little bewildered. In fact I have a headache from shaking my head in disbelief! As I throw this message in a bottle out into the virtual sea, I know that there are many like me, scratching their heads at the way supposed ‘grown up’ political types and their detractors are slugging it out in the social arena.

Here’s the thing. Social media is here, it’s happening and it’s not going away. But in terms of our political brethren, the old saying of ‘if you can’t beat em, join em’ doesn’t seem to be translating. According to Jericho (2013) our pollies in Australia seemed to be taking a very cautious approach to the adoption and use of social media. Rather than a tool of engagement, social media/network platforms such as Twitter or Facebook have become a conduit for political blurb and spin. Take the Twitter tweeting of NSW Premier Mike Baird. Apart from the usual self-congratulatory political announcements, his feed is dominated by attempts to make himself seem like a really nice guy. It’s like standing on the street and yelling ‘hey, you should like me, I’m a really great guy’ but then running inside refusing to hear anyone say a bad word about you. Is that really engagement or is Twitter just one more mouth piece sprouting they party line?

This makes me think of social media/network platforms as merely virtual stages where an increasing amount of our pollies perform for the masses in order to make themselves come across relevant, likeable, in touch, or like they actually care. Who am I to judge though? Mike’s 64.4K follows (of which I am now one – for the sake of this blog) can decide for themselves if he is what he is portraying.

Let’s not kid ourselves though. The power of social media to influence and shape political culture has been brilliantly displayed recently by those abovementioned duelling politicians and celebrities from the US. If there is anyone more adept and inept at performing on social media it’s Donald Trump. Sure, we may be left wondering why his advisors leave him unsupervised, with a phone and a Twitter account. But it sure makes for great reading.

I refer to a recent Twitter exchange between Donald and actor Alec Baldwin (who does a fantastic impersonation of Trump). Feinstein (2016) reported poor Donald wasn’t too happy with one Alec’s portrayals of him on Saturday Night Live. So like any mature and politically savvy individual, he took to the Twittersphere to whinge. Sadly for Donald this just gave Alec (who seems at least a little politically savvy) the opportunity fire back a response telling him he’ll stop portraying him, if he releases his tax returns. Ha! Take that soon to be Leader of the Free World.

Is this part of the performance? Does Donald really think squabbling on Twitter will garner more political capital with those who engage politically through social media? Maybe it will. A US study from the American Press Institute has found that social media is beginning to shape how Millennials are engaging and getting involved in politics (Fromm, 2016). And for all his faults, gaffs and faux pas, Mr Trump’s tweets appear to have influence. Bell (2016) reported that Trump recently tweeted his criticism of Boeing’s costly new Air Force One and that the order for the plane should be cancelled. Following the tweet, the share price of Boeing actually fell by more than 1%. Coincidence? Perhaps, but his comments resonated with almost 120000 people who liked the tweet and nearly 38000 people who retweeted.

Are politicians playing the social media game because they have to or because they need to? I think it’s a bit of both. In Australia’s current political climate, the need to connect with voters by any means possible is growing and many politicians risk being left behind. As to the validity of social media playing a crucial role in influencing the political landscape, let’s just see which pollie starts whinging and slinging mud via tweet first.

References

Fromm, J 2016, New Study Finds Social Media Shapes Millennial Political Involvement And Engagement, Forbes, viewed 6 December 2016, http://www.forbes.com/sites/jefffromm/2016/06/22/new-study-finds-social-media-shapes-millennial-political-involvement-and-engagement/#7b131ffc15de.

Feinstein, A 2016, The battle between Alec Baldwin & Donald Trump is escalating thanks to ‘SNL’ and Twitter, Inquisitr, viewed 6 December 2016, http://www.forbes.com/sites/jefffromm/2016/06/22/new-study-finds-social-media-shapes-millennial-political-involvement-and-engagement/#7b131ffc15de.

Trump, D J 2016, Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One, 6 December 5:52am, viewed 7 December 2016, https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/806134244384899072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw.

Baird, M 2016, Hope it goes well, 29 November 2016, viewed 6 December 2016, https://twitter.com/mikebairdMP?lang=en. Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force OneBoeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One

#donald trump #mda20009

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freestyler-universe-blog · 8 years ago

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Digital Communities - Weeks 1-3 An exploration.

Hello my fellow castaways!

So I’m doing a Communications/Public Relations degree through Swinburne University online. My current subject is Digital Communities and one assessable aspect of that course is a blog. My blog. This blog. I’m a blogger now.

The journey began with getting my head around some of the terminology commonly used in our digital world. Sure you hear terms like ‘Social Media’ and ‘Social Network’ and even attempt to use them like you know what you’re talking about. Before attempting to define these terms, it was a very useful exercise for me to consider my own digital citizenship. How and why do I use social media/networks? The ‘how’ was easy as my digital footprint was like a child’s size 2. Facebook (FB) was the extent of my foray into the socially-networked world (and here I’m more of a consumer than producer) and as far as social media use – YouTube clips of dogs riding skateboards. Now let me say that I have since created a blog, this blog, created a Twitter account and began tweeting my little heart out and now know that basically the difference between social media and social networks is; the former is more about followship and the latter about friendship/connection. Well there’s more to it than that but not enough room here.

The ‘why’ was a more difficult to answer. Forced to evaluate my choice to dwell in a digital world, I came to a stunning conclusion. I need validation. I need to know that others know I’m here and that I matter. That’s really it. When I send my post/tweet in a bottle out into the digital ocean, all I hope for is that someone somewhere will read it and respond, hence saving me from my fear on being alone or unknown. Oh there’s nothing more comforting than a being notified that you have a ‘like’ or a :) or a little heart. It’s all about the notification (via email, text, phone beeping or arrival of a carrier pigeon) that someone has acknowledged my existence. Why else do I check FB or Twitter 15 times a day?? Does this make me desperate?

This feeds into the human condition of our need to feel that we belong. Whether in the virtual or the physical world, we crave connection and belonging via community. But what is community? Introduced to the work of Ferdinand Tönnies in week 2, I struggled to reconcile my personal ideas of what community meant to me with the reformation of community in a virtual sense. It comes back to how I personally use social media/networks. I choose not to replace my physical community with a virtual one. I choose to let my sociality be augmented by the use of and inclusion in social networks.

This brings me back to my recent uptake of Twitter. Being encouraged in week 3 to evaluate the affordances of two social media/network platforms, I was again confronted with the question of why I use Twitter. In comparing the affordances of FB and Twitter I have come to realise this. Each platform facilitates connection with others (private or public) and each is perfect for narcissists and stalkers. Let me explain. Since beginning to tweet I am consumed by these recurring questions: Why won’t people follow me? Why don’t people react to my tweets? Why don’t people think what I have to say is worthy of retweeting or a heart? Why don’t I have more followers?? As I mentioned above, what I really crave is connection and FB or Twitter or Instagram or any other virtual community will never replace the connection and community I have found and will continue to find in the real world. I choose to think of these platforms as tools I can keep in my social toolbox, to use when the time and context is right.

So my fellow castaways, keep exploring and keep searching for connection wherever it may be found. Make the most of these digital communities and the connection they afford.

Shawn

#mda20009 #notifications #need more followers #need more likes

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