Essay Sample on Communicating Online

Question: You will need to select a topic of interest and then research that topic online, making use of: 1. informational websites e.g. Wikipedia, Pinterest and Learnit 2. social media platforms e.g. Reddit, YouTube and Twitter. Note: These are just examples to help illustrate what informational websites and social media platforms are you can discuss whatever sites you use in your exploration. Your task is to produce a descriptive account that includes a paragraph on each of the following: 1. Find a topic and select four (4) online sources (use a variety of sources) to help you learn about the topic 2. Write a description about how your online sources helped you learn about your topic. The information on social constructivism may assist you with this aspect of this task. Also, consider the type of information included in the website, medium (words, pictures, moving images, spoken information) and the language used. 3. Write an evaluation of the sites and platforms you explored and how and why you selected them 4. Write a conclusion stating your key learnings about the use of online resources for learning. This assessment is not a formal piece of writing, like an essay or report. You should use a writing style that is informal but informative, like the type of writing you commonly see on blogs have a look at a few blogs online to get a better idea of the style of writing required for this assessment. You might consider using the four points listed in the assessment details as a guide, or even as sub-headings for your descriptive account. You can write in the first person but this does not mean that you should not take care with your expression, grammar, and spelling correct language usage is a criterion for this assessment. You must acknowledge the sources you use. 1. Description of how/why each online source has helped you learn more about the chosen topic. 2. A brief evaluation of why you think your selections are good quality online sources. For example, the credibility/reliability of the sources (e.g. author or professional organisation), number of hits, comments and external links the sources provide (where appropriate) or how up-to-date the sources are. 3. Structure: your ideas are presented in a well-structured and logical order. 4. Appropriate language and expression with attention to correct spelling and grammar. 5. Acknowledgement of sources: youve indicated where you your ideas have come from, and provided a list of references. 6. Conclusion: drawing together your ideas and summarising what you have learnt about an online resource. Answer: Bad News Sells It has been reported in media studies that bad news outweighs good news by the ratio 1:17 where for every seventeen negative news there is only one positive news. This predicament raises the long standing debate on what news sells and why? Are people addicted to bad news? And how fair it is to blame it all on the media? The answer is not quite surprising. In retrospect, it needs to be understood that media practitioners and journalists are not pessimistic or sadists by nature. Their actions are driven by demand Vs Supply equation. News with negative content does tend to garner more attention (Stossel, 2013). Its not news if everything was well in paradise. On the contrary, the disappearance of the Malaysian flight, for example, is popular news (Stossel, 2013). Peoples generally care less about the rest of the world when the world theyre living is peaceful and quiet and their interest in news is more intense when there is a perceived threat (Greenslade, 2007) because at most instances people have this tendency of comparing and putting themselves in the particular scenario and reacting to it (Wade, 2013). Media houses and newspapers when it comes down to it are just businesses thriving on viewership and revenues which tends to be higher when audiences are jarred with shocking and surprising news which would explains the reliance on bad news (Pinterest.com, 2015). People are stimulated to read bad news and know what has gone wrong rather than good things and therefore, it wouldnt be fair to put all the blame on the media (Greenslade, 2007). Informational websites are a great source of online study material. Though it is important to choose the sources wisely, some of the websites like Wikipedia, Pinterest and so on, though they are not generally accepted as reliable academic references can be a great source of secondary information. Pinterest employs a method of pinning pictures from websites so that when a user clicks the image he/she is taken to the original website for content. Since its birth, pinterest has steadily grown in size, popularity as well as the content. The website layout was simple with relevant images used. The site also offered good information about the topic of research of this assignment. The page layout makes the entries and information clear and easy to note. Though these websites are good sources of initial information, it is necessary that the information be cross-checked across a more reliable platform. During the course of this assignment, the online newspaper website was also used for reliab le information. Articles from the online website of The Guardian were studied to obtain further information about the topic under research. The information was also checked in The New York Times. Since, newspapers are generally the carriers of real time news to the masses the reliability of the source of information is high. The importance of social media in storytelling and sending messages across the world has been emphasized time and again. Facebook with a wide reach and high proportion of users tops the list of social media sites that help obtain information. Youtube comes second by a very close margin. For this study, information from videos across Youtube has been used. News in these media is transferred via shared news, images and videos with a lot of people carrying on live discussions on the platform. Furthermore, people in the site of an incident also tend to share news immediately and such is the power of social media. This information is then shared and reposted multiple times and within minutes reaches a wide number of audiences. The reliability of these sites for information is also very high since the news usually is passed on by word of mouth talks and by real people in real situations. There are rare cases of people playing pranks but the percentage could be as low as being negligible. A lso, social media has the advantage of knowing peoples view about a particular topic or incident that helps in understanding the mentality. For instance, in the video Are we addicted to bad news? Tim wade takes us through the mentality of people in perceiving and being interested in bad news. However, even though the reliability of the information from social media is high, these are not the first choices for acquiring information about a certain topic. While social media users are exposed to number of news and events via these platforms, it is equally true that a lot of critical issues occurring around the world tend to be missed out. Also, the information obtained from these sites could be subjective and biased. But according to The New York Times, spreading of good news is higher in social media compared to bad news. The main criteria for selection included search through the search engine Google. The top results conveyed were with these sites. While Wikipedia tends to top search results usually, this particular topic did not have relevance to Wikipedia topics and was hence ruled out. The sites chosen were based on the credibility of the website, the author, and the authenticity of the information. Any unreferenced idea or information was cross checked multiple times to find the similarity or variance. Also, the timeliness of the information was evaluated by checking the specific dates of information. Any questionable data was double checked using other reliable resources to confirm the validity. The easier availability of online resources is leading to increased turn towards these for research purposes. While it may be stated that many resources available are online versions of familiar, reliable hard copy sources, there are also a number of unpublished sources that need to be considered. Seeking out information from the internet also has the ability to increase student involvement in a particular study. But it is important to remember that misleading, inaccurate and undisciplined materials and information are also available in the internet and a lack of firm knowledge and understanding can lead to unwise selections of resources from the internet. Hence it is necessary that any information found on the internet be critically evaluated using established criteria to find those sources that are legitimate. References Greenslade, R. (2007). The good news about bad news - it sells. the Guardian. Iggers, J. (1999). Good news, bad news. Boulder, Colo.: WestviewPress. McCoy, J. (2014). New Outbrain Study Says Negative Headlines Do Better Than Positive. Business 2 Community. com. (2015). Bad news always sells more than good news It preaches better too. Stossel, J. (2013). John Stossel - The Business of Bad News. YouTube. Tierney, J. (2013). Good News Beats Bad on Social Networks. The New York Times. Wade, T. (2013). Are We Addicted To Bad News? YouTube.

Preparation of Fruit Flavors free essay sample

Abstract Fisher Reaction is a special type of esterification that uses an acid catalyst to reflux Carboxylic acid and Alcohol. The product Ester is in equilibrium to the reactants acid and alcohol. Ester is responsible for the smell and aroma of different fruits. After using the Fisher reaction, a combination of techniques is used to separate the product. Introduction Esters are naturally occurring compounds that possess a distinctive odor. It is responsible for the smell of different fruits such as bananas and strawberries. Esters are most commonly from Carboxylic acids, and Alcohols. They have a pleasant and fruity odor. Esters may be produced in the laboratory via the Fischer reaction. The objective of this experiment is to be able to prepare the assigned ester by using the Fischer Reaction and to calculate the percent yield. Methodology Materials: Isoamyl Alcohol Acetic Anhydride Concentrated H2SO4 Saturated NaHCO3 NaCl solution Reflux Setup: The reflux setup contains a condensing system at a 90-degree angle with the flasks that prevents the solvent from evaporating but at the same time maintaining the temperature of the solvent. We will write a custom essay sample on Preparation of Fruit Flavors or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The 90-degree angle allows condensed solvent to go back to the reaction pot. PROCEDURE Two dry test tubes labelled A and B containing the required 2. 5 mL isoamyl alcohol and 2. 6 mL acetic anhydride respectively were placed in an ice water bath. Concentrated H2SO4 was cautiously added in test tube B. The solution was mixed well using a dropper. While keeping both tubes in an ice bath, the contents of test tube B was slowly added to test tube A. The tube was swirled constantly. The resulting mixture was transferred in a reflux setup. Boiling chips were added in the setup and was heated in a water bath at 80 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, the hot bath was removed from the setup. It was cooled for a minute and the contents were poured in a small beaker containing a cube of crushed ice. The resulting mixture was transferred in a separatory funnel containing 15 mL saturated NaHCO3 solution. The funnel was secured using the cap after the bubbles had stopped forming. The separatory funnel was swirled gently to prevent emulsion. The two layers were allowed to separate. The cap was removed and the lower layer was discarded. The extraction was repeated with another NaHCO3. Next, the mixture was extracted with 15 mL saturated NaCl solution. Then, the organic layer was transferred into a clean, dry beaker with half spatula of anhydrous Na2SO4. Finally, the final product was weighed. The percent yield was calculated. A. Results and Discussion Volume of Isoamyl Alcohol2. 5 mL Volume of Acetic Anhydride2. 6 mL Weight of Empty Vial16. 7572 grams Weight of Banana Flavor + vial18. 8188 grams Weight of Banana Flavor2. 0616 grams Theoretical Yield2. 99 grams % Yield68. 9 % To calculate for the percent yield: this formula was used: % Yield = actual yield/ theoretical yield X 100% 2. 0616 grams x 100% 2. 99 grams = 68. 9 % In the Fischer Esterification, Sulfuric Acid served as the catalyst in the reaction. It served as a dehydrating agent to lower the water molecules present in the equation. Sodium bicarbonate added in the resulting mixture after reflux served to neutralize the acid. Saturated NaCl was used to help remove the water which prevents or delays the reaction into completion. Swirling the separatory funnel served to prevent from forming emulsion. The boiling chips were also essential in the experiment because it prevents the container and the solution from overheating. One possible source of error in getting the true percent yield is the presence of water. The water was not completely removed. Another source of error is that inaccuracy of the measurement of the volume and mass. Conclusion The group was able to prepare the assigned Ester via the Fischer Reaction. The experiment’s product is Ester (Isoamyl Acetate) which is clear and colorless and smells pleasantly beautiful and fragrant. The percent yield of the product produced was 68. 9%. References McMurry, J. (2007). Organic Chemistry: A Biological Approach. Belmont, Ca: Thomson Higher Education Solomons, T. W. Graham. (2011). Organic chemistry. Hoboken, NJ : Wiley. Smith, Janice G. (2011). Organic chemistry. New York, NY : McGraw-Hill, c2011.

Clown Program Development in Hospitals

Clown Program Development in Hospitals Issues associated with the development of clowns Most of the children tend to shy away from the hospitals because of its frightening nature and experiences. The hospital presents a place away from home for the child with no familiar family members around. The environment is always strange with smell and noise and this creates some fear of the new and unknown to the child.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Clown Program Development in Hospitals specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, the development of clown program tends to alleviate child’s fear of being within the confines of a hospital by making them feel at ease. This kind of freedom has a positive impact on the child’s healing process since it provides an effective distraction from the pains of illness (Joseph, 2002). Therapeutic Clown change the child’s experiences in hospitals by offering good substitute to the needles and painful processe s. It provides the patient with the opportunity to have fun which is natural and normal to the children. Therapeutic clown offers the children emotional comfort by being the child’s playmate or a friend (Source Direct, 2004). This makes the clowning program in hospitals to be an effective therapy to certain illness since it forms a vital part during recovery process. The process is made possible through the subtle humour that goes with it helping in pain alleviation; this therefore makes it be accepted as one of the rehabilitation treatments to children (Cino, 2010). Clown program provide an immediate special kind of treatment through fun and laughter which has physiological and psychological benefits. This helps the children to feel more comfortable with the medical procedures and emergency cases. There are cases whereby some children, young people and even young adults fear interacting with the clowns. This might be because of unfamiliarity they have with the Clown’s make- up and costuming, other cases can be attributed to insensitivity and unskilled clowns. This can also be aroused by the fear of the evil clowns usually given wide coverage through the media. Therapeutic clowns must learn on how to approach patients professionally to avoid negative responses from the children and others (Koller and Gryski, 2007). Cost and Benefits of clown program Growing research has revealed that the use of clown program has significant benefits for medical treatment as well as the maintenance of health care systems since it reduces the use of pharmaceuticals. This ensures that the high costs involved in the use of drugs and the complications that may accompany it are minimized. The clown program also acts as substitute to ease the tension and fear that a child may undergo during certain medical processes. Besides the patients, clown program is also beneficial to the health care workers since it improves their working conditions (Koller and Gryski, 2007). The re is faster growth on the costs of Pharmaceuticals of all kinds; this has contributed to the increase in healthcare costs in most countries. The clown program hence, provides the best alternative for the reduction on the use of these hence controlling the health care costs (Koller and Gryski, 2007).Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Implementing the program in healthcare organization Research has revealed that the use of Arts-based programs and activities alongside creative Arts Therapies has produced effective results when used as tools for improvement of health. These programs have proved to lower the costs of health care and even contribute towards sustainability of health care systems. The use of clowns has tremendously contributed to the health of individuals and community at large (Arts and Health Network, 2010). The research done in the health care organization has co nsistently cited the importance of implementing psychosocial care within the children’s health care unit (Oremland and Oremland, 2000). It has been noted that play in children protects the child against developmental delays including emotional maturity (Pederson, 1995, pp. 365-375; Vessey et al, 1994, 369-381). This makes it vital for the healthcare organizations to implement hospital play programs that assist in psychosocial care. The clown program presents the children with opportunity to interact and get thoroughly involved in plays (Koller and Gryski, 2007). References Arts and Health Network. (2010). Arts for the health of it, and the Joy of it. Retrieved from healtharts.org/ Cino, L. (2010). The Therapeutic Clown Program. Retrieved from sickkids.ca/ Joseph, M. (2002). Therapeutic Clowning: Healing connection through play.  Credit Valley Hospital 20 (5), 4. Koller, D. and Gryski, C. (2007). The life Threatened Child and the Enhancing Clown. RetrievedAdvertising We will write a custom essay sample on Clown Program Development in Hospitals specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Oremland, E., Oremland, D. (2000). Protecting the Emotional Development of the  Child. The Essence of the Child Life Profession. Madison (CT): Psychosocial Press. Pederson, C. (1995). Effect of imagery on childrens pain and anxiety during cardiac catheterization. J Pediatr Nurs: Nurs Care Children Families, 10:365–75. Source direct. (2004). Source of Unique fine food and beverage products. Web. Vessey, J., Carlson, K. and McGill J. (1994). Use of distraction with children during an acute pain experience. Nurs Res; Vol. 43:369–81.

Sikh

Sikh Amongst the first remarks made by Guru Nanak upon his enlightenment as a Sikh, is that ‘there is no Hindu, there is no Musalman’ (Singh 134). Guru Nanak, the religious founder of Hindu Sikhism, used this remark to address the long standing relationship between Sikh and the Muslim. Nanak implied that all human beings are equal and that any profiling of people on the basis of their religion, skin colour, gender or any other form of stereotypical description is founded on ignorance.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Sikh-Muslim conflict specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Nanak also added that racial profiling of people does not have any sense of truth since all people are created equally by one creator. As such people from all backgrounds ought to live in peace and harmony, love and kindness towards each other as brothers and sisters from the same creator. Despite Guru Nanak’s philosophy of peac e and love towards each other, the conflict between Hindu Sikhs, of which Nanak was one and the Muslim has had along history. The Sikh-Muslim conflict has evolved over long period of time but many philosophers, analysts and scholars tend to focus on the negative nature of this special relationship forgetting the more positive aspects. Suffice to say that, other than the strong personal relationship between Guru Nanak and other Muslim leaders of the time, it has also been recorded that some Muslim solders served in Guru Nanak’s Hindu army. Despite the positive relationship the Sikh-Muslim conflict has at times been so strained to the extent that it has turned violent. Moreover, many philosophers and scholar argue that this conflict is religio-political. Therefore, despite friendly relationship between the Sikh and the Muslim, violent confrontations have characterised this conflict that has also assumed the religio-political perspective. Despite the fact that Many Muslims and S ikhs view each other as inveterate enemies, these two communities have a long and complex relationship characterised, at times by very friendly relationships. Many scholars tend to focus their attention on studying the more confrontational aspects of this special relationship. However, the Sikh-Muslim relationship is historically founded on cooperation rather than conflict. Many Sikhs and Muslim are oblivious of the fact that Guru Nanak sole aim was to promote friendly relationships between the Hindu and the Muslim people. Guru Nanak sought to attain this by bridging the existing gap between the two communities through his teaching of love, peace and harmony. Furthermore one of Guru Nanak’s closet ally and disciple, Mardana, was a Muslim. Other than this, Guru Nanak made several symbolic journeys to Mecca and Baghdad in search of peace between Sikhs and Muslim. There are other symbolic occurrences that sought to cement friendly relationship between the two communities.Adverti sing Looking for research paper on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Harminder Sahib, the Golden Temple of the Hindu Sikh, had its foundation stone laid by a muslin cleric Hazrat Mian Mir Sahib upon the requests of Guru Arjan (Sikand, â€Å"Interview† paras 7 – 10). Singh also reports that some of the soldiers who served in Guru Nanak’s army professed the Muslim faith, while still maintaining their loyalty to Guru Nanak (134). As such to claim that the Sikh-Muslim relations have been usually negative is to miss the point. Despite the long history of friendly relationship, the Sikhs and the Muslim have also have bitter differences that have at times turned violent. The confrontation have at times been too much violent that the two communities have been accused of ‘washing their dirty linen in public’ (Kundnani para 1). There are various instances of violent conf rontations between the Muslim and the Hindu Sikhs in recent times. Some of these violent confrontations have been motivated by such issues as war on terror. In 2001, Sikhs and Muslims engaged on running battler in Bradford, India, over the differences of the definition of terrorism. In the same year, a 15 year old Hindu girl was reportedly severely injured after an argument over the event of the September 2001 bombing of the world trade centre in New York. Some of the violent confrontations between these two communities have turned tragic, such as the killing of three British Muslims on holiday in India. It has been reported that the killings were inspired by the state sponsored war against terrorism and as such any Muslim especially foreigners in the Gujarat state was seen as a representation of terrorism. The state government was accused of distributing weapon such as machetes that were used in such murders (Kundnani para 2 – 4). While the confrontation seems like isolated occurrences, the violence is a manifestation of long running hatred inspired by religious and political propaganda. This type of propaganda is spread through journals, newspaper and newsletter articles, with very strong views against the other community dominating such publications. Readers of these articles are influenced to stand up and defended their sovereignty. This type of attitude has slowly led to the build up of these violent confrontations (Brass 436, 438). The conflict between the Sikhs and Muslims is a result of the long standing religious and political differences. Suffice to say that that other than being racial groups, the Sikhs and the Muslim are distinctive religious groups.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Sikh-Muslim conflict specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The confrontations are drawn out of the fact that the Sikhs and the Muslims religious foundations have assumed a political dimension such that the two see each other as opposing political ideologies. The hostilities emerge as a result of the intention of the Sikhs and the Muslims to maintain a religious identity through a political agenda (Johnstone 132). This type of religious and political identification is totally against the philosophy of Guru Nanak (Singh 134). Due to the concerted effort of Guru Nanak and other Muslim clerics made to maintain friendliness in the 15th and 16the centuries, the religious and political hostilities are only sees as the characteristic of post-Nanak era. Furthermore, the post Nanak Sikh identity has fundamentally changed from the open an accommodating to a more radical religio-political identity. The Sikh sees the Islam as the enemy religion. These strong religion-political conflicts are felt in Punjab where the two communities kill each other in what is seen as religious massacre (Sikand, â€Å" Life of Baba Nanak† para 4). The strong religion and political differences sti ll drive the conflict not only in Punjab but in other areas such Kashmir today. The Sikh and the Muslim have a complex historical relationship. Despite the fact that many see this relationship and only based on violent confrontation, the Sikhs and the Muslim have existed peacefully. There have been several instances of cooperation between Sikhs and Muslims scuh as the laying of the foundation stone of the Sikhs golden temple in Amritsar by a Muslim cleric, a symbolic event that is emblematic of the historical cooperation between the two communities. The violent nature of Sikh-Muslim relationship is a manifestation of religious and political differences that exist between the two communities. Due to the complexities involved, there is no end in sight to this historical affair. Brass ,Paul. The production of Hindu-Muslim violence in contemporary India.  Washington: University of Washington Press, 2003. Print Johnstone, Ronald. Religion in society: A sociology of religion. Michigan: Prentice Hall, 2006. PrintAdvertising Looking for research paper on international relations? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Kanwarjit, Singh. Political philosophy of the Sikh gurus. New Delhi: Atlantic publisher and distributors, 1989. Print Kundnani, Arun. An unholy alliance? Racism, religion and communalism. 2002. July 14, 2011 irr.org.uk/news/an-unholy-alliance-racism-religion-and-communalism/ Sikand, Yoginder. Interview : Makhdoom Syed Chan Pir Qadri on Sikh Muslim relations. 2002. Web. Sikand, Yoginder. Re-Imagining Sikh-Muslim Relations in the light of the Life of Baba Nanak. 2005. July 14, 2011 theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/re_imagining_sikh_muslimrelations_in_the_light_of_the_life_of_baba_nanak/

Economic Concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economic Concepts - Essay Example e) Michelle seems to be much more efficient than James at utilizing the same space and resources for the purpose of both raising chickens and growing potatoes. Perhaps Michelle is a much more experienced farmer than James or perhaps the soil in Michelle’s farm is much more fertile. Regardless Michelle has the absolute advantage in both the chicken and potato production compared to James. f) Since Michelle can produce potatoes at a ratio of 4 pounds of potatoes per chicken versus James ratio of 2 pounds of potatoes per chicken, so to Michelle’s the potato crop is more valuable compared to her chicken production. Michelle holds the comparative advantage in the production of potatoes. g) Since James can only produce 80 pounds of potatoes year, but yet he is able to produce 40 chickens which are more valuable than the 80 pounds of potatoes he can produce in his farm; James holds the comparative advantage in the production of chickens. h) If both James and Michelle were to s pecialize in the area where they both hold a comparative advantage they would both be better off. Since based the exchange rate is 2.5 pounds of potatoes for each chicken Michelle’s 200 pounds potatoes are worth 80 chickens versus her capability of producing 50 chickens. This represents a 60% increase in her overall production. In the case of James 40 chickens are worth 100 pounds of potatoes versus his farm production capacity of capacity of 80 pounds of potatoes.

Freedom as it Exists Today Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Freedom as it Exists Today - Essay Example Democracy does not look the same as it did in 1620. Self-professed Christians do not believe everyone should have the right to worship in their own manner. They believe their version of religion should be taught in schools regardless of its intellectual merit and foisted on American citizens for their own spiriual good. Renaissance humanism has become so much a part of the consciousness of people in Western societies, that the idea of someone telling them how they should worhip never even occurs to them. Many people who live in the United States also never consider the priveleges of living in a democracy, the ability to have equal say in how the government is run. In fact, people in the United States have become so accustomed to the notion of democracy, many do not even participate in it. That is, they do not exercise their right to vote, which is the privilege of democracy, having an equal voice in what laws are passed and who will represent citizens in government. Even worse, accor ding to Frances Fox Piven is â€Å"the sheer complexity of our economic and political system [that] makes democratic choice and deliberation difficult if not impossible. Democratic possibilities depend crucially on the ability of the public to understand what is happening to our society and why, and especially on the ability of the public to decipher the role of government policies (Howard, 2011, p. 68). Each session of the congresses result in more laws that the average citizen may not understand or even have knowledge of. The candidates for office are chosen on their ability to pay for their campaign and not so much on their fitness for office or their ideas. These people with lots of money pass laws favoring their own kind and cloak it in propaganda that fools the gullible electorate into believing it is for their welfare. When and if the people who were fooled into voting for it find out they have been duped, it is too late. Is it any wonder that many do not vote? They do not k now what they are voting for, and

Video game aggression Essay Example for Free

Video game aggression Essay As technology continues to forge ahead concerns about its effects on the populace are raised. Whether it be microwave ovens causing cancer or cell phones causing accidents, people are always interested in researching, and often condemning, these new products. Such is this case with videogames. Ever since PongO swept the nation, scholars have been researching videogames effects on children. The most popular aspect of videogame research is whether or not games increase aggression. A video game is any console or PC based interactive game, aggression is any thoughts or behaviors related with the intention to cause harm. Contrary to popular belief, there is no reliable correlation between videogames and aggression. Claims are the backbone to a study; they are both the starting point and the goal. Cooper and Mackie (1986) sought to discover if a highly violent game would affect 4th and 5th grade kids differently than a nonviolent game or a paper-and-pencil game. Tamborini et all (2000) predicted that aggressive thoughts and behaviors would be highest amongst those playing a violent virtual reality game followed by those playing a violent standard game, followed by those playing a nonviolent standard game. Derek (1995) was interested in what effect, if any, playing violent games would have on aggressiveness in different personality types. Ballard and Weist (1996) researched whether the level of violence in a game would affect peoples responses on a hostility questionnaire. Sherry (2000) performed a meta-analysis on 25 video game/aggression studies; he wanted to see if there was any credence to the claims. All five studies are very similar in their intent. They mostly focus on whether the level of immersion (via different hardware, violent content, and/or graphics) affects the level of aggression. To understand a study one must understand the definitions used within that study. All five studies use the same general definition of a videogame that the general public uses; an interactive game played on a television or monitor whereby onscreen objects can be manipulated through the use of a controller. Violent video games are those that involve death and destruction to things resembling reality and/or fantasy. Definitions of aggression, however, differ. Cooper and Mackie (1986) used a childs toy selection and distribution of reward/punishment as an indicator of aggression. Tamborini et all (2000) consider aggression to be hostile thoughts. Derek (1995) defines aggression as a mindset that includes seven subcategories (the Buss-Durkee Inventory): assault, irritability, indirect hostility, negativism, resentment, suspicion, and verbal hostility. Ballard and Weist (1996) use the word hostility instead of aggression. In this case it refers to thoughts of defensiveness, dominance, aggression, self-confidence, nurturance, and autonomy. Sherry (2000) just says, ?and some form of aggressiveness as the dependent variable. The Cooper and Mackie study and the Sherry study are the only two that incorporate behavior in their definition of aggressiveness. All of the others deal only with thoughts, but are quite similar in their intent. The real make-or-break portion of research is the method in which you seek and categorize the data. Cooper and Mackie (1986) took 84 4th and 5th graders from New Jersey. They had equal numbers of boys and girls separated into three groups. One group played the violent game Missile Commander (a cheesy game where you shoot lasers at little dots representing bombs falling on a city), another played Pac Man (which we all know and love), and the control group solved mazes with pencil and paper. After 8 minutes of game play the kids were told to select a toy to play with while the researcher did some work (the researcher was actually observing how long the child play with each toy. They could select a Shogun warrior (a violent toy), Nerf basketball (an active toy), Lincoln Logs (a quiet game), or pop-up pinball (a skill game). Which toy the child selected acted as an indicator of mindset. After the play session the children were told to hold down a button to indicate the length of a time a child should be punished for various acts of insubordination. They were then told to hold down a button for the length of time a child should be rewarded for various good deeds. Tamborini et all (2000) enlisted 92 MSU undergrads in the Communications department. The predominantly female assemblage was split into three groups. Before playing any games they filled out a self-report questionnaire concerning aggressive tendencies. The first group got to play Duke Nukem 3D on a virtual reality system (Duke Nukem is a modern first-person shooter where you run around blasting aliens; virtual reality systems incorporate a headset and gloves to more fully immerse the player), the second group played Duke Nukem 3D on a regular computer, and the third group played Cool Boarder (a realistic snowboarding game) on a regular PC. Participants got to play for ten minutes then filled out a thought list coded for types and frequency of hostile thoughts. They also filled out an evaluation of the research assistant they dealt with, this was meant to be another measure of aggressiveness. Derek (1995) enlisted 117 students from Strathclyde University (60% women). Participants were split into three groups. The non-aggressive game group played Tetris (a real-time strategy game), the moderately aggressive game group played Overkill (a typical space-blasters game which no one has heard of), the aggressive game group played Fatal Fury (a martial arts fighting game with high levels of trauma and gore). Players were given a personality test before and after game play under the guise that the study was concerned with hand-eye coordination as it relates to personality. Ballard and Weist (1996) took 30 male undergraduates from Appalachian State University. The guys were split into two groups. Group one played Corner Pocket (a billiards game with virtually no action) while group two played Mortal Kombat (an extremely popular fighting game), which was set at either high violence mode or low violence mode. The subjects played for 10 minutes before filling out a hostility questionnaire. Sherry (2000) drank hundreds of cups of coffee and alienated his wife and kids while pouring over insane amounts of research. There were 32 studies available to him, 7 of which he had to throw out for various reasons. Of the remaining 25 he carefully looked for validity problems while synthesizing them into the definitive meta-analysis on this topic. As with all things capitalist and otherwise, its all about the bottom line, lets see what they found. Cooper and Mackie (1986) found that, overall, the kids played with the skilled toy and quiet toy (118 sec. and 134 sec. respectively) more than the active toy or aggressive toy (89 sec. and 59 sec. ). After exposure to the aggressive game the kids played with the aggressive toy more than the kids in the other two conditions combined (82 sec. compared to 46 sec. for the other two groups). Amount of time pressing the reward/punishment buzzers was not correlated with the game played. Tamborini et all (2000) found a significant effect for media environment on hostile thoughts, F (3,91)=7.21, p*. 01, eta=. 20. Contrary to expectations, a higher number of hostil thoughts was found among those who played the game on a PC, not those who played Virtual Reality. They did find that those playing violent games had higher hostility ratings than those whom played nonviolent games, but the highest hostility was found among those who observed the violent games. Derek (1995) used a one-way ANOVA test and found no significant differences between overall changes in aggressiveness and type of game played. Pearsons correlation coefficients also failed to show a significant relationship between type of game played and change in level of aggression. Ballard and Weist (1996) used a one-way MANOVA test and found a significant relationship between levels of hostility and type of game. Hostility scores were higher after playing high-gore Mortal Kombat than they were after playing low-gore Mortal Kombat. Both were significantly high than those who played the billiards game. Sherry (2000) used the Pearson R on each of the 25 studies individually, he then subtracted out the variance due to sampling error. This resulted in a large standard deviation in the weighted effect size, suggesting extraneous variables at work. He also performed a Fisher Zr test, and was unable to reject the null hypothesis. In the words of Austin Powers, whoopdy-doo, what does it all mean There are many factors that cloud the issue, but overall it seems that the evidence is not very convincing. In the Cooper and Mackie study (1986) the higher levels of play time with the aggressive toy was accounted for almost entirely by the female participants. One theory is that playing the aggressive video game empowered the girls (whom are normally shunned from doing aggressive things) to broaden their aggressive horizons; at the least it calls into question issues of generality. The age of this study is also a factor, Sherry (2000) points out that there is a trend for older video game studies to have greater effect sizes. An issue with all of the studies was the short amount of time participants played the games. Sherry (2000) found that playing time was a negative predictor of effect size. It seems that there is an initial spike in aggression that goes away after longer exposure. Tamborini et alls (2000) findings are odd due to the fact that the observers reported the highest hostility. This could indicate that seeing violence on screen-not necessarily controlling it- leads to higher aggression. The most convincing evidence of all is the meta-analysis (Sherry, 2000). His exhaustive study was unable to produce resounding results, indicating that the positive findings in some of the studies could be anomalous. This lack of evidence would leave one to believe that the status quo is acceptable. Game content can be found through the rating system, but any other measures would be burdensome and unnecessary. So, until more convincing data comes along we can rest assured that any rage is the result of good old American anger, not blasting on-screen boogie men. Bibliography Works Cited Ballard, M. E. , Wiest, J. R. (1996). Mortal Kombat: The Effects of Violent Videogame Play on Males Hostility and Cardiovascular Responding. Journal of Applied Psychology, 26, 717-730. Cooper, J. , Mackie, D. (1986). Video Games and Aggression in Children. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 16, 726-744. Derek, S. (1995). The Effect of Video Games on Feelings of Hostility. The Journal of Psychology, 129, 121-130. Sherry, J. L. (2000). The Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggression: A Meta-Analysis. Human Communication Research*. Tamborini, R. , Eastin, M. , Lachlan, K. , Fediuk, T. , Brady, R. , Skalski, P. (2000). Virtual Violence. 86th Annual Convention of the National Communication Association.