A Source from my Annotated Bibliography

I have been doing research over video game violence and the effects on children and I would like to share one of my sources with you out of my annotated bibliography.


Ferguson, Christopher J., and John Kilburn. "Much Ado About Nothing: The Misestimation and Overinterpretation of Violent Video Game Effects in Eastern and Western Nations: Comment on Anderson et al. (2010)." Psychological Bulletin 136.2 (2010): 174-178. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 8 Nov. 2010.  This article discusses how bias from the public and politics is making getting a solid scientific study done.  The article also talks about how lack of a consistent measurement on what scale violence is rated allows the studies to show skewed results.  The main premise of this article is that violent video games have almost no effect and have been blow out of proportion by bias and a lack of a consistent measurement on what scale violence is rated.  This article is unique that it comes from a psychological bulletin and while he tells his point he is always comparing it to another groups study.  This article is against my main thesis but has many good points rooted in good, scientific method.

A Source from my Annotated Bibliography

I have been doing research over video game violence and the effects on children and I would like to share one of my sources with you out of my annotated bibliography.


Irwin, Mary Jane. "Rated V for Violence." PC Magazine 25.4 (2006): 152-153. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 8 Nov. 2010.  The article talks about the rapid growth of video games as entertainment and how because of some of the content they are under attack.  It tells of some of the unnecessary violence and explicit material in Grand Theft Auto IV and how little some parents know about ESRB ratings.  The general purpose of this article is just to inform the reader about some of the legislation and controversies that might affect the video game world.  This article was published in PC Magazine and is aimed at people who are interested in the world of electronics.  This article is unique because it is in a PC Magazine but almost seems in favor of the laws being passed and not with the games.  This article has some good statistics and other information that I was unaware of and should support my case.

Does game violence make teens aggressive?

I just wanted to talk about the article from my previous post a little.  This article supports my statement that parents should be watching what their children are playing.  "Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine say that brain scans of kids who played a violent video game showed an increase in emotional arousal – and a corresponding decrease of activity in brain areas involved in self-control, inhibition and attention."  The study was inconclusive if the effects are lasting or worse permanent.  However, one of my science teachers once told us that some scientists believe that the human brain does not forget anything we see or study but that we just lack the proper way to recall what we have learned.  If this is true then all that violence is just floating around in our sub-conscience waiting to get out.

A Source from my Annotated Bibliography

I have been doing research over video game violence and the effects on children and I would like to share one of my sources with you out of my annotated bibliography.

Kalning, Kristin. “Does game violence make teens aggressive?” MSNBC.com. National Broadcasting Company. 8 Dec. 2006. Web. 1 Nov. 2010.  This article was written to discuss new findings from an experiment conducted at the Indiana University School of Medicine.  The article talks about the finding about brain activity after playing violent game compare to non-violent.  The purpose of this article is to inform about what a study has recently found and inform people that not all studies are objective, some can be influenced by big corporations, and that more research needs to be done in this area.  This article is unique because it uses brain scans and not just opinion polls to gather information.  This article will help my argument about video game violence a little; however, more research needs to be done for more conclusive answers.

Protect the Future

I do not think that anyone can deny that our children are the future.  It is the cycle of the world the old pass away to make room for the new.  I also believe that it is the parents duty to help to nourish and protect that child from any threat that may arise.  Parents should be monitoring what video games their kids are playing a little more closely.  Some of the video games are really just pointless violence and children do not need to be exposed to that at least until they are mid to late teens.

Also video game manufacturers should take more responsibility for their products.  They could put forth a little extra effort to make more educational games that would be both fun and mentally stimulating.  I also think that legislation could be passed either reducing the amount of graphic content in video games or making parents play a demo of a video game before being able to buy it for a child under the age of 18.

It's been a while -- Project Proposal

Hello again!  I had gotten busy and caught a nasty cold and never got around to updating some of the ideas and things that have been happening on my blog.  In consequence, today is the day that I hope to catch all my readers up the thoughts I have been having over a project I have been working on for my composition class.  I am going to start you off with my project proposal paper, and then take you on a journey through my thoughts from there.

Video Game Violence Proposal

Problem

            How much do children really learn from playing video games?  Does the abundance of violence and gore in a video game make children violent and desensitized?  Video games may very well be the cause behind childhood violence and if so, should possibly be made to be less violent and more educational.

Context

            A possible example of the effect of video games on the behavior of children can be seen in one of my best friends from my childhood.  We met in kindergarten and were together through high school.  When we were in kindergarten through fifth grade he was happy and we played on the jungle gym, and when we were older soccer, during recess.  After school we spent time riding bikes or were not together but were both avid book readers.  During the sixth grade he got a gamming system and began to play many shooter based games.  During the next couple years what we did together began to change.  Our time spent together usually revolved around his gamming console and when he would be getting a new game.  He became more and more interesting in shooting things and going hunting.  In high school his father bought a 9mm pistol for him to use.  We went with his father out in the woods and did some target practice with it and a .22 revolver.  After that every now and again, when his father was away at the National Guards for the weekend, we would sneak the hand guns out of the house, because we were too young to legally shoot them alone, and go and shoot at things in the woods.  It soon became hard to hang out with him because all he wanted to do was either play video games for countless hours or go and illegally shoot at squirrels in the woods.

Research

            I plan on using my blog space as my artifact by posting over different technological topics that may cause childhood violence or any contradicting information that I may find during research.  I will look on some of the library’s academic article search engines looking for related articles on the affects of video game violence on children.  I also plan to search the World Wide Web for other credible, and hopefully recent, sources of information over video game violence and its effect on children.  

Analysis

            I am unsure on what my findings would be.  I think that my findings would be to indeterminate to say that video games specifically or solely the contributing factor to violence in children.  Movies and even television have become increasingly violent and profane.

Solutions

            If video games are the cause of increased childhood violence then regulations should be put in place and enforced.  Games could be made to be less graphic in their displays of death because there is very little chance of them completely removing fighting games.  They could also make the regulations on graphic games more strict and pass legislation to stop parents from buying their under aged children the violent games.  They could also promote the production of educational or cognitively stimulating games by offering subsides to help combat the negative effects of video games.

I was Raised by a Treky - Paper Part 2

My father loved outer-space.  He even tried to become an astronaut when he was younger and might have, had he not needed glasses.  My father also had a great love for science fiction shows which has greatly impacted me.  One show in particular stands out from the others as his favorite and most watched and talked about, Star Trek.  I found that www.startrek.com’s database on Star Trek the original series had a good description of the show:

The original Star Trek series focuses on the 23rd century adventures of Captain James T. Kirk and the U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC-1701), a powerful interstellar spacecraft dispatched by Earth-based Starfleet Command to explore the galaxy.  Kirk commands a crew of 430 men and women aboard his starship, which can travel at speeds surpassing the speed of light.  Kirk’s five-year mission—and his mandate from Starfleet—is to seek out new life and new civilizations, and to boldly go where no man has gone before.

My father was deffenantly a Treky, but not the kind who went as far as dressing up and going to conventions.  My father has quite a few books that are based on the Star Trek series, he has a few collectable things, and he has watched all the other television series of Star Trek not just the original series.  I find myself still loving many of the old Star Trek television shows, and even some of the other really old, cheesy, science fiction shows.  My father has cultivated a love for space and action in me, and maybe a hint of geekiness.

            My father has also influenced my interest and love of technology.  My father actually went to college to get some sort of degree in computing.  After he had actually graduated though, he decided to return to the family farm and work there.  However, he brought that knowledge of technology back with him.  He always tried to keep a relatively new computer at our house and had many kid games my siblings and I could play.  I developed an interest in computers and soon began to read some of the technology books that my father had bought.  It is that love of technology that drives me now to get my degree in Management and Information Systems.

            Unlike my friends I have accepted and even love that I am like my father in many aspects.  Sometimes my friends think my mannerisms and sense of humor are a little strange, and sometimes I agree with them, but I would not change them if I could, I love who I have become thanks to my father.