Bulk of Essay

As most people know violence in today's society seems to be on the increase. More and more people are carrying knives in order to protect themselves when on the streets in dangerous players. This means people are getting into fights and being seriously injured. But what is causing this to happen? I will be debating whether video games affect violence. Both adults and children play video games these days. Some parents even allow young children under the age of 10 to play video games which include the likes of Grand Theft Auto which is a violent game.

From my research I have found out from certain books and websites that video games do affect some peoples brains in ways which could affect violence. Kalning 2006, took time to perform a research test of 44 volunteers and has found out that by playing the game Medal of Honour for 30 minutes then it sends a reaction to the brain affecting the amygdala which is involved in emotional arousal. Whereas by playing games like Need for Speed it affects different areas of the brain which does not carry the same effect.









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Kalning quotes

“Based on our results, I think parents should be aware of the relationship between violent video-game playing and brain function.”

Parents should be made aware of this because if there children grow up playing these violent video games on a regular basis then they may be more prone to violence as they may think they can do it in a game why not in real life. Parents should also be aware of the recommend game age that is displayed on the back of each game cover as this gives a very good indication of what the game may have included into it.


Willenz 2000 has created an article on the subject of violent video games can increase aggression. She also quotes:

"May Be More Harmful Than Violent Television and Movies Because of the Interactive Nature of the Games"

The current games out now have a lot of violence in them; from war to games where you go around doing missions killing people and stealing cars. A lot of these games are repetitive so you are doing the same things over and over again which means people will take all what they are doing into their brains. Also, if people are playing games on a regular basis then they are not watching TV and movies as much which in turn make Willenz 2000 statement in a way very true.

Willenz 2000 also carried out 2 studies. The first involved 227 college students who reported their playing habits. Willenz 2000 found out that the students in junior and high school engaged in more aggressive behavior. In the second study he found out that the users who played the violent video game 'received a noise blast with varying intensity' than those who was playing the non violent game myst. From both of his tests he come up with the statement -

"In the short run, playing a violent video game appears to affect aggression by priming aggressive thoughts. Longer-term effects are likely to be longer lasting as well, as the player learns and practices new aggression-related scripts that can become more and more accessible for use when real-life conflict situations arise."

Willenz 2000 is saying that if you play video games on a regular basis all of the time then it will affect your brain because when and if you are in a similar situation to one that is in a game then you may use it in the real life world.

Video games clearly have a serious affect on some people lives as an article made by AJ Glasser 2009 proves.

"Houstonian Ofelio Antonio Otero, 40, allegedly shot and killed his 17-year old son yesterday morning after arguing with him about a missing video game."

This shows how much a person is affected by a video game. Antonio had been drinking heavily when he got into an argument with his wife; his son stepped in and was then shot in the neck. By reading this article it is clear that video games take over some peoples life and therefore makes people violent if something does not go their way.

Literature Review

Pam Willenz 2000 reports that people who play violent video games can be more harmful than to those who watch violent movie or programs. They say by playing certain games such as Doom, it can increase the person's agressive thoughts. Kalning 2006 also carrys the same view. They have carried out a test amongst a number of teenagers and have come to the conclusion that by playing violent video games compared to non violent then it sets off activity in the amygdala part of your brain which deals with emotional erousal. Gee 2003, claims that video game violence is overblown due to the fact of real life issues that are going in the world for example - wars where people are getting killed by eachother all of the time.

References
Willenz, P. 2000 "Violent video games can increase aggresion" [Internet] http://www.apa.org/releases/videogames.html [23-4-2000]
Kalning, K. 2006 "Does game violence make teens aggressive?"[Internet]http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16099971/ [8-12-2006]
Gee, J. 2003 "What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy?"

Swot Analysis

Swot Analysis

Strengths

Knowledge of Business and IT - I feel that through my years at college I have gathered a lot of knowledge in these two areas, which will help me throughout university.

Determined - I would love to gain a degree and will be determined to do this.

Hardworking - When I set out to achieve something, I work hard at it.

Willing to learn - As I have chosen an area that I am interested in then i will do my best to learn as much as I can.

Organized - I feel that i am an organized person so that i can get all my work handed in on the right time.

Team worker - I work very well in a team.

Weaknesses

Bad at presentations - I feel I need to improve on my presentation skills. I tend to look at walls all the time.

Getting bored - when an area isn't as interesting to me i sometimes get bored and get distracted.

Nerves - when doing test i get nervous which may affect my test performances.

Opportunities

To gain a degree - by completing this course it allows me to gain an important degree.

Find a well-paid job in the future - it will allow for me to hopefully find a job that i enjoy which pays a very nice amount of money.

Gain extra knowledge - if i listen and do all the work my knowledge will increase.

Gain more confidence and social skills - by coming to university it will allow me to meet new friends and gain more social skills. It will also give me more confidence for every day life.

Threats

State of the economy may change - this will affect me when i finally get a job after university. There may be a lot of people unemployed which will affect my chances of getting a job.

Family changes - if i have a family problem it may affect me being able to get to university, which will give me less learning time.

National rail not being on time - if trains are late then me will be late for some classes.

Lack of money - if I cannot afford very important books or equipment then it may mean I miss out in important information.

VARK Reflection

After completing the VARK excersise in the previous lecture it shows me that I am more of an Aural learner than any other. However, all of my results where close together which may mean that I have all 4 of the different learning strategies.

Visual - 4

Aural - 6

Read/write - 4

Kinesthetic - 4

Being an aural learner means that you like to listen so that you can take all of the information in. I feel that when I am being taught something I like to listen and also to write down important notes that I may forget or need for revision.

I am also a visual as I like to see many examples displayed up in front of me so I can get an idea of what it is about. Tables/graphs helps a lot. This will enable me to use it as an example when I need to go back for Tutorial exercises.

If you are a read/write person then you like to have all the information in front of you. This is where I like to take down notes. I feel this is the least favored learning strategy for me.

I feel being a Kinesthetic also applies to me as this means that you like to test things to be able to understand what you are doing. For example at the moment in coding concepts I am able to test what I am doing on MatLab to fully understand.

Learning Line

My Learning Line

Nursery Secondary School Boxing Learn to drive University

Primary School Football College Work Labour

This learning line shows all the things I have done through out my life which has allowed me to go get to where I am now. I started my learning line at nursery, this is where I learnt my basic skills like making new friends. I then progressed onto Primary school where as I grew up my knowledge was growing. I had to do my first major test towards the end of primary school to show what I was capable of doing. Then I moved onto secondary school where I had to get the results to do what I wanted to do. I achieved what I needed and then moved on to college where I done a BTEC in Business studies for 2 years. I passed my BTEC national with Merit, Merit where I was able to apply for University for the course I am doing now.

Through out my time at school I had joined a local football team in which I played for Romford Royals for over 5 years. However, I found a greater interest in the sport of Boxing when I was aged 14. I then decided to give up Football and follow Boxing in which I still currently train 2-3 days a week.

After leaving secondary school I decided I wanted to drive as this would give me a sense of freedom. After taking 40 lessons I passed my test first time.

Work has also helped me during times where I have had time off. I have gained a number of skills to do with the building trade and also helped my financially also.