Justice System Position Essay Example for Free

Justice System Position Essay Juvenile crime rates in the United States fell to a new 32-year low in 2013. In 2012 there were around 60,000 violent crime arrests involving youths under the age of 18. From 2011 to 2012 there was a 10% decline in the number of youth arrests for all four offenses, which contributed to an overall drop of 36 percent since 2003. In 1994, police reported 500 violent youth crime arrests for every 100,000 10-17-olds in the population. In 2008, the arrest rate fell and there were 300 arrests for every 100,000 juveniles in the population. Now, between 2009 and 2012, there are 190 arrests per 100,000 juveniles (Violent Youth Crime in U.S. falls to New 32-Year Low, 2013). What do all these numbers represent? A new hope in the future of the youth in the United States. Some of the main reasons contributing to this dramatic decrease in juvenile arrest rates include a shift in thinking about the best ways to handle young people who break the law, a continual period of decreasing juvenile crime, and fiscal pressures on state governments that have many people, including conservatives who supported tough-on-crime policies, looking for less-expensive alternatives to mass incarceration. The United States rates for incarceration for juveniles are18 times greater that of France, and more than seven times greater than that of Britain. Countries like Finland or Sweden do not usually lock up young offenders and offer the youth the best opportunities to mature into adulthood. Large-scale incarceration only leads to abuse and harsh treatment for the children and teenagers confined, and it is very expensive. In fact an average bed in a juvenile correction facility costs about $88,000 a year. Putting troubled youth into extremely disciplined, restrictive, and long-term environments goes against everything that we know about the juvenile brain and takes away opportunities from these adolescents to learn new skills and positive ways of behaving. Most states stress incarceration and punishment and it is interfering with effective diversionary, treatment, and rehabilitation practices (Building a More Effective Juvenile System, 2014). Rehabilitation practices seem to be the most logical route to treating  delinquent youth and preparing them for a better future. They are the future of America and they are treated now will affect the crime rates in the future. A number of evidence-based practices have made a positive impact on reduced incarceration and reoffending for youth. Research shows that threatening and disciplinary interactions, incarceration, and punishment only increase the aggressive behavior that we see in troubled youth. To help our youth and continue to decrease the rates of delinquency and re-offending we can reduce the weight on incarceration and punishment and increase offenders’ interactions with positive well-trained adults that will help them become better individuals. Juvenile delinquency has been a major problem for law enforcement officers. Law enforcement officers have a goal to prevent juvenile delinquency from happening. Without knowing what triggers delinquency, officers have no idea how to stop it before it happens. In the past law enforcements reaction to delinquent behavior was to arrest these individuals. With the dramatic decrease in youth arrests, it makes a difference in what police officers are dealing with every day. It also makes their jobs safer. If law enforcement did nothing, then juveniles would continue to do the wrong. Law enforcement should show interest in the youths in the communities that they serve. Talking to them, asking questions, and pointing them in the right direction could change their lives. Police officers are role models and even can be heroes. In 2001 San Diego police officer Jeremy Henwood was approached by a 13-year-old boy and asked for a dime to buy a cookie at McDonalds. Officer Henwood took some time and asked the boy what he wanted to be when he grew up. The boy replied that he wanted to become a basketball player in the NBA. Officer Henwood explained to him that he would need to work hard and focus to get there. He bought the boy some cookies and went back to his police cruiser. Only moments later Officer Henwood was gunned down in his car and killed. When this boy heard the news it broke his heart and he said that his conversation with Officer Henwood meant so much to him. He said he would never forget the conversation that they had. It made a difference to him. He said that he would work hard to reach his goals because of him (Slain San  Diego Officer Remembered for Good Deeds, 2011). Law enforcement can make a difference for our youth and through these efforts reduce delinquency and make their jobs easier. Juvenile courts and probation play a central role in the management of juvenile justice in the United States. Any policies and programs pushed by these units greatly define the Nation’s response to juvenile crime. In 1996 1.76 million delinquency cases were handled by U.S. courts and juvenile probation officers had contact with almost every one of those cases. While rates have decreased since 1996, it still puts a huge weight on both units (Overview, 1999). While it might cost more to rehabilitate and treat all juvenile offenders at first, the number of reoffenders would decrease drastically. They could be taught how to use the skills they were born with, learn new skills, and learn how to be successful in life. Eventually the weight would not only be off of the court and probation system, but also off of the rehabilitation programs. Another unit in the justice system that would be affected by rehabilitation is corrections. Currently correction facilities do offer some sort of rehabilitation for those inmates who choose it or have no choice. Because of high demands, not every delinquent can receive the specific treatment that they need. If rehabilitation took priority in the first place, the incarceration rates would certainly decrease and these facilities could provide individualized treatment. As I mentioned earlier, to provide a bed for one youth for a year costs on average $88,000. If these numbers decreased, these funds could be used to provide scholarships and other incentives to our youth. Currently community services are used as a punishment for juvenile delinquents instead of incarceration. It usually is a method used to show a delinquent that there are consequences to their actions. Meaningful community service along with proper treatment can show children and young teens that there is so much more to l ife than getting into trouble. It is a great way to give back to the community and help these kids feel important. Rehabilitation comes in many forms but its main goal is to restore the good in a person and prevent habitual offending. These centers can provide academic and vocational education, treatment programs  that address violent and criminal behavior, sex offender behavior, substance abuse, mental health programs, and medical care while maintaining a safe and secure environment beneficial to learning. Programs such as these could reduce institutional violence and future criminal behavior by teaching anti-criminal attitudes and providing personal skills for youths. With all that said, some people argue that punishment is necessary and should remain the main focus of the juvenile justice system. Punishment advocates state that our youth understand right from wrong and should be punished for their actions. I think that what these advocates do not realize is what these kids are facing when they are locked up. The conditions that will live in while they serve the time on their sentence may act ually change them for the worse. Maybe if these advocates spent a day or a week living the way an incarcerated juvenile does their opinions would change dramatically. An argument against rehabilitation is that juvenile rehabilitation is unique for each individual. What works to treat one kid might not work for another. It makes it harder to treat each juvenile and get positive results. With each new entry into the system, the chances of rehabilitation for each kid decreases. That shouldn’t mean that everyone gives up hope and locks up each delinquent until they feel they have been punished long enough. What this shows is that more resources and time should be put into rehabilitation efforts. Creating facilities that specialize in different areas and placing these youths where they feel they will thrive is needed. If it doesn’t work, the information that they have learned about that delinquent should be enough to send them to another facility where they will receive the proper services. Before a child turns three years old the state is responsible for all learning disabilities. It is the job of the state to evaluate that child and pro vide services to help that child meet their milestones. Once the child turns three years old the school system in the state becomes responsible for the learning development of that child. The school system will evaluate and place the child into a school that will work to improve the skills of this child. If there are no improvements, the child will receive another evaluation and changes in placement will be made. This process continues until the child is receiving the exact learning environment that they need. I know all of this from personal experience with my son. These same efforts should be used for youths heading in the wrong  direction. They are the future of America and with youth arrest rates already decreasing, there is a chance for a safer future for a lot of people. Punishment can make a person angry and resentful. A child is usually provided warnings that if they continue certain behavior they will find themselves in â€Å"time out† or have certain toys or electronics taken away. Once they use up all possible warnings that punishment is enforced. It makes the child angry and upset but usually they realize that they have to be good before they are able to get out of â€Å"time out† or get back what was taken from them. As a mother I can say that these methods work. The difference in punishment at home and punishment by law is that it is a family matter. These children are working with loved ones. When punished by the law and placed in institutions it is not up to family anymore on what kind of treatment they will receive. It can be damaging to these kids. I can only hope that more time and effort be placed in helping these kids become better people. The right kind of rehabilitation efforts can help almost anyone. Taking time to learn the problems a juvenile has and working to show them that it is only a problem and problems always have a solution, is a positive approach to decreasing juvenile delinquency. Given the decreasing rates of delinquency over the last 32 years shows, in my opinion, that our country is on the right track in helping our youth. Change has always been necessary and ways to improve are always on the agenda. Reference Page Violent Youth Crime in U.S. Falls to New 32-Year Low. (2013). Retrieved from http://johnjayresearch.org/rec/files/2013/10/databit201304.pdf Juvenile Delinquency Current Issues, Best Practices, and Promising Approaches. (2008). Retrieved from https://www.americanbar.org/newsletter/publications/gp_solo_magazine_home/gp_solo_magazine_index/juveniledelinquency.html (Juvenile Delinquency Current Issues, Best Practices, And Promising Approaches, 2008). Building a More Effective Juvenile System. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.earlyadolescence.org/juvenile_justice_system Slain San Diego officer remembered for good deeds. (2011). Retrieved from http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?id=8314141 Overview. (1999). Retrieved from http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/jaibgbulletin/over.html

Violence in Video Games

Violence in Video Games The concern over how much of a child’s actions, if any, are influenced by the violence contained in the video games they choose to play, has been become a topic of debate in recent times. Certain heartbreaking events, such as the Columbine High School shooting in April of 1999 where two students open fired on their fellow classmates killing in total 13 victims followed by their own suicides, sparked a renewed interest in researching if video games could cause acts of violence in adolescents. (Baertlein, 2007) This apprehension is mostly due in part, because children are in theory, more inclined to behavioral influences when they actively participate, as opposed to when they are merely observing. The belief has been that, a child playing violent video games can have more of a tendency to commit violent acts. On the contrary, there has been no clear-cut substantiation to show these violent video games are to blame for youth violence. The fact remains; it is actually not an easy task to prove a real world connection between violence and video gaming. Youth violence reports show crimes rates have decreased while video game playing has become trendier. (Baertlein, 2007) In January of 2001, the Surgeon General David Satcher released his report findings concluding that, youth crime rate was not rising, and that the increase youth crime rate was merely a myth. â€Å"Since 1993, when the epidemic peaked, youth violence has declined significantly nationwide, as signaled by downward trends in arrest records, victimization data, and hospital emergency room records† (Satcher, 2001). Moreover, the study showed the amount of lethal violence has declined. This was primarily attributable to the decline in use of firearms among youth. (Snyder, 2006) This goes contrary to the claims of those who say that violent video games are teaching youth to use guns. The study performed by Surgeon General Satcher, along with other research performed on the topic, further substantiates the argument that violent content found within video games is not the cause for violent acts committed by the youth. According to the Surgeon General, the strongest risk factors for scho ol shootings centered on mental stability and the quality of home life, not media exposure. (Satcher, 2001) The reality is recent reporting has shown a decrease regarding violence in teens since games have become more graphic. The violent crime rate has decreased from a rate of 51 victimizations per 1,000 members of the population age 12 and over in 1994, down to 21 per 1,000 members in 2005. (Bureau of Statistics, 2006) In addition, the Juvenile Violent Crime Index has also shown a declining rate since 1994. Crimes of murder committed by juvenile offenders have actually fallen 65% from 1994 to 2002. (Snyder Sickmund, 2006) Although the crime rate has declined, concern regarding violent acts by juveniles is still an issue; the public continues to hold fast on its views that children participating in playing violent video games are being led to commit violent acts. Theorists such as Bruce Barthalow, Mark Sestir and Edward Davis have based their opinions according to a large quantity of research performed by many esteemed scholars. They state that a connection has been made known between real life violent crimes and violent content in video games. (Barthalow, Sestir Davis, 2005) The main positions in the argument for these theorists are derived from results of several types of studies, lab experiments, field studies as well as correlation studies. Correlations are a measure of how strongly associated two events are. However, co relational studies and other studies such as those cannot account for whether or not violent video games can cause aggression. Furthermore, some co relational studies find no sign ificant relationship with aggression. Even still, those studies cannot prove violence contained in video games is the cause of true-life violence. After all, what is lacking from the studies used video game research? Crucial factors are missing in research studies conducted on violent video games. The players in these particular studies are not in control. Their free will and freedom of choice are not included when researches test their theories. They are selected to play a video game not of their choosing, when the action of play is in essence, a self directed and voluntary activity. The element of forced exposure to a video game can alter the player’s reaction to the experience. Play is not an action that can be recreated in an experiment held in a laboratory. There are other questionable factors regarding the testing video games as well. For example, â€Å"the duration of play is too short, typically 5-15 minutes, for anything like the play experience to be duplicated† (Calvert Tan, 1994). In these laboratory studies, no individual really â€Å"plays†. A video game is played by individuals for entertain ment and therefore, being instructed to â€Å"play† a video game defeats the purpose of electing to play for amusement. The studies performed do not take in to consideration why individuals play video games at all. (Calvert Tan, 1994) Research on video games also fail to recognize that a player of video games participates freely and ceases to play when they so desire. (Calvert Tan, 1994) Players are free to enter the world they create for themselves in these games, and this freedom remains missing from the laboratory studies conducted on violent video games. Studies completed have concluded that there has been no definitive link between violent acts and violent content found in video games, and that some fashion; violent video games may actually provide a venue for children to vent their aggressions, rather than taking physically taking action. (OBrien, 2007) In studies performed by the U.S. Department of Justice’s, Office of Justice Programs, it is reported that the largest influential factor in adolescent delinquency is the family dynamics within the children’s homes. (Snyder, 2006) Parents have a certain obligation to their children. They play an important role in the child’s life and are responsible to provide them with guidance as to what is wrong or right. If children cannot clearly determine the differences between fantasy life in video games and reality, they cannot be blamed for committed violent acts such as those contained within video games. Without parental guidance, children are susceptible to misinterpret scenarios they come across in real life. (Anderson, et al., 2003) Violence from video games will not make submissive adolescents violent when they have been made aware of the limits within a fictional world. Many factors can cause a child’s incapacity to make a distinction regarding right from wrong, reality from fiction. An adolescent or teenager may be lacking the maturity level necessary to understand the impact of their actions, or perhaps can suffer from mental instability limiting their perception of reality. However, is it the violent content found within video games to blame? The studies suggest that when parents actively participate in a child’s life, discuss real life conflicts, the inappropriateness violent solutions, and help the child generate alternative solutions to violent actions, it can help reduce the actual impact of media violence on the youth. (Anderson, et al., 2003) Psychologists have also concluded that, children whose parents have regulated the length of time video games are played are less likely to show aggressive behavior. (Anderson, et al., 2003) It is the parent’s responsibility to monitor their children and to educate them. It is a par ent’s role to discipline their children and to teach them social norms and values. After all, it would be impossible maintain a child from the outside world. There will always be negative influences out there. It is the parent’s duty to their children, to ensure they are taught the consequences of their behavior, as well as right from wrong. Parents should be the ultimate decision makers of what they allow their child to watch, play or do. Parents have the responsibility to be aware of the content involved in the games their child plays. Video games are labeled to describe the content within them, as well as specify when they include strong language, violence, mature sexual themes, as well as other subject matter that may be unsuitable for a child. In 1994, the video game industry established the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), a self-regulating labeling body. (Entertainment Software Association, 2006) The ESRB ratings method is astonishingly all-inclusive. According to the ESRB, it rates over 1,000 games per year. Practically every title produced by major game developers for retail sale today carries an ESRB rating and content descriptors. â€Å"The ESRB rating system helps parents and other consumers choose the games that are right for their families. ESRB ratings have two parts: rating symbols that suggest what age group the game is best for, and content descriptors that indicate elements in a game that may have triggered a particular rating and/or may be of interest or concern† (Entertainment Software Association, 2006). These ratings provide the parents with information they need to determine whether the video games is suitable for their child to play. Even with the ratings and the violent content, some parents still purchase these games for their young children without screening the video games. According to the Entertainment Software Association, 89% of the time parents are present at the time games are purchased or rented, 61% of parents believe games are a positive part of their children’s lives, and 87% of the time children receive their parents’ permission before purchasing or renting a game. (Entertainment Software Association, 2006) Parents, teachers, guardians, mentors or anyone else a child may look to for guidance, should be able to provide them with proper direction, lessons about choice and consequences in life that could affect them and those they hold close as well. â€Å"When the fantasy world is brought into the picture, these lessons should let the child know that certain actions in a fantasy world are not appropriate in the real world, thus the separation† (Goldstein, 2001). Video game violence contains simulated acts of aggression. Video games cannot actually emphasize acts of aggression if there is none to begin with. (Delamere, 2005) The same features that hold back the audience from rushing the stage during a murder scene in a play are present in video games. When and adolescent plays a video game that is labeled as violent, it is actually containing simulated acts of violence. (Goldstein, 2001) There is not an actual physically performed action taken, since the child is in an imaginary wor ld. They cannot abuse, damage or violate because there is nothing to abuse, damage or violate. (Goldstein, 2001) The child has ultimate control what occurs which is a major deciding point in separating reality from video games. In the real world, consequences are certain. When a child commits and act, either good or bad, something will happen. In video games, the player can suspend the game play and even bypass consequences. These factors provide cues that the game play is not real, and that they child is merely doing something for amusement. (Goldstein, 2001) Video games can actually be beneficial to children.They provide cognitive benefits such as system thinking, pattern recognition, strategy, decision making, and even patience. A book written by author Steven Johnson makes another point in favor of viewing video games from a new perspective. Johnson argues that video games are growing progressively more refined, they present players a mental exercise that is far more invigorating, satisfying, and even more educational than much of the media content they were force fed in the past. (Johnson, 2005) Particularly, Johnson states, modern games, including those filled with violent material demand children to mange resources, evaluate multifaceted social networks, and recognize long-term patterns. (Johnson, 2005) A common video game presents a predicament to be solved and diverse means to accomplish the resolution. Children playing video games are driven to play video games because they can achieve the impossible. (Simpson, 2005) Distribution of resources, trial and error and completing tasks are all part of the learning experience. (Simpson, 2005) The software embedded in these video games clearly establishes roles, powers, and limitations. Video game players have the ability decide their course of actions and recognize that they must take accountability for their own actions. The children playing these games are aware that there are both harmful and helpful consequences during game play. Games can mimic real-life consequences, and playing them teaches children that patience and perseverance lead to successful results. (Simpson, 2005) Violence in video games is not cause of violence in adolescents; this is a rumor or myth made by people looking for an excuse or a solution to why things happen. With the level of violence in video games increasing, adults have been linking the acts of violence contained in video games with violent acts that have been committed by children. Rather than look in to all the determining factors that can be reasons for children to act aggressively, they would rather lay blame on something new. The public has not even taken a moment to reflect on the past and realize that video games are just another source of media added to the list excuses justifying a child’s actions. Films, radio, novels, television programming, have all had been faulted for leading young people off course and stirring up aggressive or unsociable behavior. Video games violence is a handy scapegoat for individuals who do not care to explore deeper into the quandary of where the desire to murder comes from. The myth that video games reveal a new, excessive collective fixation with violent entertainment is untrue. Harold Schechter, in the manuscript Savage Pastimes: A Cultural History of Violent Entertainment, painstakingly documents the incidence of violent media all the way through the history of art and entertainment. Schechter remarks that even the purportedly quiet days of the 1950s were complete with violent media, most of it aimed at children. (Schechter, 2005) â€Å"The fact is that, contrary to popular belief, there was a shockingly high level of sadistic violence and gore in some of the most popular commercial entertainments of the 1950s† (Schechter, 2005). Violence and aggressive media and behavior have always been a part of civilization, so why it is receiving so much attention these days? Perhaps the degree of youth violence has not changed at all, but the factors mentioned above have simply created a heightened awareness of violence amongst youth. Perhaps a heightene d awareness and a lower tolerance for such acts have simply caused an increase in reporting violence, creating an illusion of an increase in youth violent behavior. There are extreme cases of youth violence in recent years that stand out, and were covered extensively by the media. The Columbine incident is an example. This type of incident is rare, but the media attention it received contributed to the perception of an increase in youth violence. Youth violence did not increase during this time; it just became more of social issue. Many factors contributed to those crimes, leaving the public many ways of laying blame. Youth violence is not caused by content found within a video game; it is more of an issue with the individual committing the violent acts. The underlying problem deals with the individual having a firm grip on reality and knowing the difference between those actions and the ones found within a video game. The adolescents are less apt to see violent video games in an unconstructive way if the individual is there not already a predisposition to violent acts. (Zarozinski, 2001) â€Å"Media in all forms can move people to consider things they had not considered before. But media cannot take over a mind and make anyone do something hes not predisposed to do† (Zarozinski, 2001). Stating, in essence, violent video games do not create violent children, however they may add to the troubles of an already violent youth. (Zarozinski, 2001) The public is quick to fault violence in the planet on video games, movies, television and music for the reason that they are effortless plausible targ ets. Although these media sources can influence and individual to a certain degree, the public has to look further than this particular focal point and start searching for the real cause for the violent behavior in civilization. A game cannot and will not make a human being kill another. Numerous individuals view violent images on a regular basis, yet only a small percentage of those actually commit crimes of violence. As studies by respected academics show, people that are already predisposed to violence are those that tend to gravitate towards playing video games. (Delamere, 2005) â€Å"The violence present in these media sources may help instigate a violent act; it is never the only cause† (Delamere, 2005). However, the groups of alarmed individuals that plead for the government to take action to against video games will not openly admit that the source for their civilizations problems may be due to their own actions. The people want a scapegoat that will appease their conscience and at the same token, avert the fingers of blame from pointing in their direction. This day and age, humankind is a world where real violence is everywhere, from neighborhood shootings to the war in Iraq. People are mostly helpless to stop it, and just have to live through it, but when a juvenile turns on a violent video game and spends endless hours playing, the question remains, does it change their perception of the real world and cause them to become delinquent? Violence in video games has been at the forefront of a lot of controversy recently. Incidents, like the Columbine High School shooting has come and gone, reopening old wounds and revisiting unanswered questions. What could have caused two seemingly average kids to go on such a rampage? Some of the blame has fallen on violent video games. Are these games actually part of the problem, or just an easy target? Fueled by myths of increased youth violence, and tragedies such as school shootings, youth violence is an increasing concern in for the public. Nevertheless, there is a lack of hard evidence to suppor t the supposed increase in youth violence, much less, that violence in video game plays a part in it. Violence in Video Games Violence in Video Games RQ: Should any restrictions be applied to violence in future video games to prevent any negative changes in childrens behavior? Abstract: Introduction: People, nowadays, are always arguing about the problem of violence in video games; and violence, in this case, includes use of drugs, blood, gore, offensive language, and many other things, that exist in modern video games. According to the statistics, over a billion people play video games, and the majority of these people are children or young teenagers. Of course, there are games, which are perfectly fit for children, games, which do not contain any type of violence, and they are usually designed specifically for kids to play. But many children prefer playing violent video games, because they think it is more enjoyable. Even though, it is usually up to their parents or guardians to decide whether these children are allowed to play violent video games or not, in most cases, parents do not want to restrict their kids from playing games, they like, so they just allow children to play almost any games, they want to play. The problem here is, that psychologically underage people might be more vulnerable to impact, coming from video games, than adults are; so violent video games might have a negative impact on shaping childrens behaviour (Publications, Harvard). Even though, millions of children play violent video games, only a few actually become violent (John Bingham). And this controversy leads me to a question: Should any restrictions be applied to violence in future video games to prevent any negative changes in childrens behaviour? I conducted the research, which provided me with the information about the ways, in which video games might affect childrens behaviour and the consequences of video game influence for children. That information will help me understand which restrictions should be applied to violence in video games, if any. Body: Even though, there is evidence of the link between violence in video games and the increase of childrens aggressive behaviour during the past two decades, there are still a lot of facts, which prove that there are many other factors, which could have caused negative effects on childrens behaviour. A lot of various psychological and media institutions, such as Oxford University, have conducted the research on the influence of violence in video games and other types of media. There are about 350 research papers conducted from 2005 to 2013, and non of them really explore every aspect of the effects of media violence on kids behaviour. For example, the combinations of effects of different risk factors, such as depression or stress with this kind of violence, or the differences between the effects on different genders. Such factors as the gender and living in poverty have greater impact on the outcomes (Bavelier, Green and Dye 692-701). In the majority of the studies kids younger than 10 years of age werent even included. The importance of these factors is certainly undeniable, especially considering the fact that there are not too many cases of chilren aggressive and violent behaviour, proved to happen due to violent video games. There was one of the high-profile incidents in the USA, which was caused by 17 year-old Dylan Klebold, and 18 year-old Harris Eric. It is called the Columbine High School Massacre. The shooting happened on the 20th of April, 1999, at Columbine High School, in Jefferson County. Two pupils killed twelve other pupils and a teacher (Library, CNN). The two shooters in the massacre were regularly playing weapon-based combat games. Specifically, the two shooters used to play Doom, which is a violent video game (The Columbine Shooters: Video Game Addicts?) Since the moment when violence was introduced to media, hundreds of studies have focused their research on viewing these acts of violence and aggression, such as Columbine High School shooting. When violent video games emerged, researchers started analyzing these acts much more closely. Many of the studies were focused on persons sex and studying male versus female aggression after viewing and playing violent video games. Some of them researched viewing violent video games against playing these games to find out if there was any link between the two ways of experiencing video game violence (Polman, de Castro and van Aken 256-264). Very little of these studies have researched the positive effects, which video games might have on chldren. For example, watching video games   improves hand eye coordination, and increases some of the persons abilities, for example some kids become better at solving puzzles (Ferguson 309-316). Ferguson found no connection between violent video games and negative behaviour. He concluded, that research made up of current studies, which have been analyzed, cannot link watching or playing violent video games to aggressive behavior afterwards (Ferguson 309-316). Each study, which has been reviewed, usually shows that there is some link between viewing violent video games and aggression. However, it doesnt completely prove the existence of this connection. Some evidence suggest that there is a link between exposure to violent video games and violent behavior (Porter and Starcevic 422-426). Can aggressive behavior with a good level of certainty be linked to watching video games? Or are there other circumstances that influence this kind of behaviour? Studies suggest a link between video watching and aggression, but researchers have not yet been able to find a direct relationship between the two. As in most behaviours, there are still loads of other factors that may contribute to the persons behaviour. Concluding, that experiencing violence in video games is linked to aggressive behaviour, is only possible if other factors, which influence a persons behaviour can be controlled. Those factors can include family history, sex, cases of aggressive behavior before watching video games, and many other potential factors that might influence childrens behavior (Persky and Blascovich 57-72). Not all studies have found a relationship (Ferguson et al. 109-122) between exposure to violent video games and aggression in children. However, the   most part of all the work actually shows a relationship. In a meta-analysis of 98 studies, which involved 36,965 participants, violent video games were convincingly shown to influence social behaviour (Greitemeyer and Mà ¼gge 578-589). The fact, that studies have taken many different forms, increases the certainty of the relationship. Jim Blascovich, at the University of California at Santa Barbara, in the study, he conducted, he concluded that the more realistic the graphics are the more of a possibility there is to display aggressive behavior right after viewing violent video games. Explicit viewing material usually looked more realistic, though letting aggressive behavior in the real world.   For example, Pacmans graphics were very simple in their content, and as graphics have become more realistic, the violence and death scenes have become a lot more realistic in modern video games (Persky Blascovich 57-72). Some of the work looks at the causal effect of game play. Some individuals have been asked to play violent games in the lab, while others were asked to play non-violent games. Then the behaviour of each group was measured in social tasks after the experiment. These studies have shown that playing violent games results in instantaneous changes to behaviour (Anderson, Carnagey and Flanagan 199-249). Young adults have shown physiological desensitisation to scenes of real life violence (Carnagey, Anderson and Bushman 489-49). Individuals who had played violent, in comparison with non-violent, games were less likely to report hearing a fight staged outside the laboratory, considered the fight more common and were slower to respond when some of them decided to help (Bushman and Anderson 273-27). Desensitisation to violence is considered to link violent game play with later aggressive behaviour (Engelhardt et al. 1033-1036). Other studies have included longitudinal effects, where individuals have been followed over a period of time; and video game play at one point in time has been related to aggression later, both in lab and in real life. The more violent play individuals took part in, the steeper the increase was in aggressive behaviour (Willoughby, Adachi and Good 1044-1057). The size of the effects found in most studies is either small or medium, but its quite consistent. This pretty much indicates that violent games do influence violent behaviour, rather than that violent children engage in video games. The most part of the negative effects, as a result of playing violent video games among children, can be blamed on the violent scenes included in these games. If a kid spends a big amount of time playing violent videogames, he or she becomes socially isolated. This basically means that this child doesnt have enough time to interact with his or her peers (Anderson and Bushman 353-359). The child who spends lots of hours per day playing videogames will have almost no time to make new friends. Such children may become more depressed and lonely in their homes. They are also very likely to stop spending time on other activities such as sports, reading, and studying.   Children stop being socially active, since they dont get involved in real-life events anymore. A child, who ends up spending most of his or her time playing videogames, does not get a chance to think creatively and independently, due to the fact that videogames reduce a childs imaginative thinking. This kind of thinking is crucial in developing a childs creativity. By encouraging isolation, videogames may also put a childs health at a serious risk. Since such kids do not lead a healthy lifestyle, due to the lack of sports and social activities, children, who are used to spending the majority of their time playing videogames, are very likely to suffer from obesity, and muscular and postural disorders. Quite a large number of videogames are addictive. Rather than studying or completing homework, a child spends time playing videogames, because the addiction wins over this child. When a child spends an large amount of time playing such videogames, he or she becomes socially isolated. Some of the negative effects as a result of playing these kind of videogames among children can be blamed on the addictiveness of these games. Due to the lack of time, which a child has while not playing games, he or she does not have an opportunity for rich social life (Anderson and Bushman 353-359). The child who spends almost the whole day playing videogames will have little time to meet and make new friends. They may very easily become more depressed and lonely in their homes. Children will also spend little time on other activities such as sports, reading, and doing homework. These children become socially inactive since they do not get involved in almost any social activities. Such video games redu ce a childs imagination as well. This basically means that children who spend most of their time playing videogames do not get a chance to think creatively or independently. Imaginative thinking is essential in developing a childs creativity. By promoting isolation, videogames may have some effects on a childs health. Quite some videogames may teach children wrong values (Gunter). Videogames encourage children to associate positive emotions such as happiness and pleasure with the ability to cause pain to others. They develop the feeling that they have to hurt other people in order to be happy themselves. Children who play videogames usually tend to develop selfish behavior (Anderson and Bushman 353-359). Videogames make the players depend on them. As a child is very often left alone, while playing a videogame, he or she can develop this dependent behavior. A study, which was done at a Minneapolis-based national institute for media, found out that kids can get addicted to videogames and exhibit social phobias. Video games are quite different from other visual types of media, because of their interactivity. The games allow players to be active participants in the storyline. In games the players, who benefit from acts of violence, are able to proceed to the next level. Violence in children behaviour has increased, as a negative result of playing videogames. There are a lot of incidents of violent and aggressive behaviour among children, who play violent videogames worldwide (Gunter).   Right after these incidents, the most of newspaper articles claimed that the key cause of that incident was violent videogames. The effects of violent games arent equal for everyone. Short-term effects in the lab are discovered to be bigger for undergraduate men than women (Bartholow and Anderson 283-290), and younger children are at a bigger risk of being affected by violent games if theyve got a high level on a personality trait, called neuroticism, and a low level on the traits agreeableness and conscientiousness (Markey and Markey 82-91). In terms of the game, playing with a customised avatar was found to cause more aggressive and violent behaviour, than when playing with a generic character (Fischer, Kastenmà ¼ller and Greitemeyer 192-195). Conclusion: Although the link between real-life violence and video game violence is still debated, and certainly other factors have a more significant influence on aggression. The impact of video games violence on the behavioural development of children is quite obvious both in the short-term and the long-term. The effectiveness of video games is a very important issue for society, and at the same time a benefit, because their effects can be both negative and positive; indeed it would be extremely hard to argue for one of these positions without the other. What is crucial is that we understand what aspects of game play behaviour have an influence, and on whom they have it. So whats the final answer to my question: Should any restrictions be applied to violence in future video games to prevent any negative changes in childrens behavior? Its quite simple. No new restrictions should be applied to violent video games in the future. Partly, its because the effects of this kind of violence are differe nt from one person to another, so they can also be positive; and partly because other factors usually affect childrens behaviour more, than video game violence. Althogh, parents can take some action to prevent possible negative impact of video games. For example, limit the number of ours, their children spend playing, or simply not allow kids to play games, which they consider too violent. Bibliography: Greitemeyer, Tobias and Dirk O. Mà ¼gge. Video Games Do Affect Social Outcomes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 40.5 (2014): 578-589. Web. 22 Dec. 2016 Library, CNN. Columbine High School Shootings Fast Facts CNN.Com. CNN. N.p., 2017. Web. 16 Dec. 2016 The Columbine Shooters: Video Game Addicts?. NY Daily News. N.p., 2017. Web. 16 Dec. 2016 Bavelier, Daphne, C. Shawn Green, and Matthew W.G. Dye. Children, Wired: For Better And For Worse. Neuron 67.5 (2010): 692-701. Web. 4 Dec. 2016 Polman, Hanneke, Bram Orobio de Castro, and Marcel A.G. van Aken. Experimental Study Of The Differential Effects Of Playing Versus Watching Violent Video Games On Childrens Aggressive Behavior. Aggressive Behavior 34.3 (2008): 256-264. Web. 12 Dec. 2016 Ferguson, Christopher John. The Good, The Bad And The Ugly: A Meta-Analytic Review Of Positive And Negative Effects Of Violent Video Games. Psychiatric Quarterly 78.4 (2007): 309-316. Web. 17 Dec. 2016 Porter, Guy and Vladan Starcevic. Are Violent Video Games Harmful?. Australasian Psychiatry 15.5 (2007): 422-426. Web. 20 Dec. 2016 Persky, Susan and Jim Blascovich. Immersive Virtual Video Game Play And Presence: Influences On Aggressive Feelings And Behavior. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments 17.1 (2008): 57-72. Web. 25 Nov. 2016 Ferguson, Christopher J. et al. Not Worth The Fuss After All? Cross-Sectional And Prospective Data On Violent Video Game Influences On Aggression, Visuospatial Cognition And Mathematics Ability In A Sample Of Youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 42.1 (2012): 109-122. Web. 4 Dec. 2016 Carnagey, Nicholas L., Craig A. Anderson, and Brad J. Bushman. The Effect Of Video Game Violence On Physiological Desensitization To Real-Life Violence. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 43.3 (2007): 489-496. Web. 13 Dec. 2016 Anderson, Craig A, Nicholas L Carnagey, and Mindy Flanagan. Violent Video Games: Specific Effects Of Violent Content On Aggressive Thoughts And Behavior. 1st ed. 2004. Print Bushman, Brad J. and Craig A. Anderson. Comfortably Numb: Desensitizing Effects Of Violent Media On Helping Others. Psychological Science 20.3 (2009): 273-277. Web. 14 Dec. 2016 Engelhardt, Christopher R. et al. This Is Your Brain On Violent Video Games: Neural Desensitization To Violence Predicts Increased Aggression Following Violent Video Game Exposure. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 47.5 (2011): 1033-1036. Web. 21 Dec. 2016 Willoughby, Teena, Paul J. C. Adachi, and Marie Good. A Longitudinal Study Of The Association Between Violent Video Game Play And Aggression Among Adolescents.. Developmental Psychology 48.4 (2012): 1044-1057. Web. 19 Dec. 2016 Anderson, C. A. and B. J. Bushman. Effects Of Violent Video Games On Aggressive Behavior, Aggressive Cognition, Aggressive Affect, Physiological Arousal, And Prosocial Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review Of The Scientific Literature. Psychological Science 12.5 (2001): 353-359. Web. 13 Dec. 2016 Gunter, Barrie. The Effects Of Video Games On Children. 1st ed. Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998. Print Fischer, Peter, Andreas Kastenmà ¼ller, and Tobias Greitemeyer. Media Violence And The Self: The Impact Of Personalized Gaming Characters In Aggressive Video Games On Aggressive Behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 46.1 (2010): 192-195. Web. 16 Dec. 2016 Markey, Patrick M. and Charlotte N. Markey. Vulnerability To Violent Video Games: A Review And Integration Of Personality Research.. Review of General Psychology 14.2 (2010): 82-91. Web. 18 Dec. 2016 Bartholow, Bruce D. and Craig A. Anderson. Effects Of Violent Video Games On Aggressive Behavior: Potential Sex Differences. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 38.3 (2002): 283-290. Web. 15 Dec. 2016 Publications, Harvard. Violent Video Games And Young People Harvard Health. Harvard Health. N.p., 2017. Web. 18 Dec. 2016 John Bingham. Study Finds No Evidence Violent Video Games Make Children Aggressive. The Telegraph. N.p., 2017. Web. 15 Dec. 2016

Case Study: Challenges to Healthy Ageing

Case Study: Challenges to Healthy Ageing Triumphs and Challenges in Healthy Aging Stacey Obispo Everyone has got a story. Your story along with everyone else’s’ develops as you advance through life. Research theorist have studied the stories of different people and have concluded that a persons’ story develops based on; their personal characteristics, the environment in which they live, time, relationships that they have, life transitions encountered and social change (Hutchinson, 2010). The life course perspective looks at how age, life transitions, relationships and social change has formed people’s lives from birth to death (Hutchinson). Encompassing one’s life course perspective is a path full of twists and turns followed by triumphs and challenges aging brings. In this issue of Healthy Aging, an interview with Crista Doe is shared with readers to show has her her life course perspective has developed thus far and how activity and disengagement theories in aging fair in explaining her level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with aging. Interview with Crista Doe Crista Doe is a 75 years old woman living in Lake Elsinore, CA. She is a widowed lesbian who lost her partner of 50 years 5 years ago. Currently, Crista lives by herself in a modest one story cottage style home. Crista retired at the age of 65 as a records administrator. She was employed by the State of California. She chose retirement at 65 so that she could be a fulltime caregiver for her ailing wife at the time. Now that Crista has reached her later years, she enjoys gardening and being a member of the Reptile Society. However, Crista’s physical disabilities have kept her from gardening as frequently as she would like and from being an active member (one that goes to road shows and schools educating the public about reptiles) of the Reptile Society. Crista does not relate to her younger and only surviving family member. She has little to no relationship with her nephew because she never had a good relationship with her nephew’s mother (her sister) growing up. As a result of her failing relationship with her sister she distanced herself from her and her nephew. Crista is the younger of two sisters. Her sisters were 15 and 16 years older than she, both have passed away. Historical change that impacted Crista’s life was WWII. Crista was born and raised in Germany during WWII. She never saw daylight until she was five years old because she and her family lived in underground bunkers and could only come out during nightfall. Her dad was a Nazi army sergeant in Germany. He did not want his position or role in the army but felt that he had no choice but to serve. Crista’s dad and family were Mormons but out of fear of death they never revealed their beliefs to officials. At the age of 5, frequent bombings from the allied forces during the day forced Crista to run out of her bunker. She vividly remembers an American pilot flying low and looking at her then firing. At the time she was able to get cover but debris flying from the air caused by the firing left her scathed. As a result from the attack; she received a back injury and partial hearing loss. Soon after the attack, her dad surrendered to allied forces and was executed. After the war ended, Crista entered into adolescence and along with her mom, and sisters left Germany to live in the U.S. Crista says she had little to no socialization when she lived in Germany. She felt that her socialization process began in her adolescence in the U.S. However she encountered problems at school with students and staff. When she entered High School she dropped out soon after because she was angry. She was angry about the way history books retold stories about the war and how others believed it without question. Crista said, â€Å"The books did not paint an accurate picture as to what happened in the war. I know it because I lived in it†. Crista had an unstable home life due to her mother’s inability to keep a job and support her financially. Crista ended up living with the older sister she got along with and began taking dance lessons to alleviate the pain from her back issues. During this time Crista was able to develop friendships with other dancers. Health challenges Crista has encountered includes spinal injury, a broken hip, and hearing loss. Crista states that her health challenges have been a combination of both environment and age. Her spinal injury has gotten worse and her hip although healed from its break 4 years ago still does not work like it used to. Crista says that her spine, hip, and overall health has deteriorated more since her wife died. As a result of her health issues Crista now gets around using two canes in the house and a walker when she’s out on the street. The last thing Crista anticipates in this stage of her life is death. She says she senses that her end is coming soon. Crista has not experienced any changes in her living arrangements over the last five years. She says she does not plan on making any either. Crista does admit that she has some problems keeping up with the housekeeping but says she’s fine and does not want anyone’s help. Crista says, â€Å"I should be able to do all the things around this house myself, I do not need anybody and I am keeping it that way.† Crista’s has negative feelings about getting older. She says her deteriorating health has taken her away from accomplishing the things that she wants to accomplish and from the things she enjoys. Crista says she feels sad and depressed a lot of her time. Crista believes that her life experiences in Germany have really contributed to her wisdom. She believes that her experiences in Germany taught her how to keep on living and survive. She feels that her life experiences with her wife of 50 years really contributed towards her gaining wisdom about love. Crista’s one piece of advice that she would like to share about aging, â€Å"Life is beautiful, but health has major effects on being able to enjoy that beauty†. Crista explains that aging is not bad. Rather, it is the complications that accompany it that make it difficult. Activity Theory and Crista Activity theory views older adults as being most satisfied if they are able to remain in their social roles (Whitbourne Whitbourne, 2014). Essentially under this theory, successful aging equals’ active aging and activity is shown through maintaining active roles in society (Whitbourne Whitbourne, 2014). This theory suggests that older adults should be given as many opportunities as possible to be engaged with work, family and community to encounter higher levels of life satisfaction (Whitbourne Whitbourne, 2014). Crista does not fit all the criteria for successful aging under activity theory because her social roles have lessened not from lack of desire but from lack of physical mobility and deaths of family members. Crista’s familial social roles are non –existent due to the deaths of her sisters, mother, and lack of communication with her estranged nephew. Crista’s social ties with work have been cut since retirement. On the other hand, Crista is successfully aging under activity theory profile because she has a part-time role in the Reptile Society and she is active with taking care of her home. Crista feels sad and depressed a lot of the time because she has lost some of her mobility and stamina for doing the things she once loved. Under activity theory it would be assumed that Crista has lost a major source of her identity due to losing her social roles such as work and family (Whitbourne Whitbourne, 2014). Her deteriorating health has prohibited her from reengaging in new work roles. She is not engaged socially with family since she lost her life partner and family. Activity theory explains her joy with staying connected with the Reptile Society and her feelings for being sad and depressed because of her lack of engagement in the roles of work and family. Disengagement Theory and Crista Disengagement theory states that normal and natural evolution of life causes older adults to purposefully loosen their social ties (Whitbourne Whitbourne, 2014). This type of natural detachment is not just inevitable but desirable (Whitbourne Whitbourne, 2014). The theory asserts that aging is accompanied by a mutual withdrawal process of the individual and society (Whitbourne Whitbourne, 2014). Crista did not purposefully loosen her social ties. Her physical disabilities have altered her ability to stay as socially active as she would like with the Reptile Society. Her personal social ties to family have been cut due to familial death and to assert that she has cut her nephew off due to her age would be an incorrect assertion because there was never a true social connection or relationship she had with him. Under the approach of disengagement theory retirement and isolation from family members are sought out for higher levels of being (Whitbourne Whitbourne, 2014). A lot of the time Crista is sad and depressed. Successful aging under disengagement theory states that Crista should be having a higher level of well-being due to disengagement. However considering her circumstances, she is not experiencing a higher level of well-being. Furthermore, disengagement theory does not explain Crista’s current engagement with community through participating as a part- time membe r with the Reptile society. Disengagement theory should add that older adults do still desire to be active yet it is their physical limitations and family related deaths that contribute towards the disengaging process. The disengagement process therefore is not sought out by the individual nor does it make them more content it’s a natural evolution that occurs due to life events. Conclusion There are triumphs and challenges that accompany aging. Crista’s story shows that throughout her life course, she has found both adversity and happiness and they have shaped her into the independent and head strong lady that she is today. As Crista has entered her later years her health and social ties have influenced and the impacted her feelings of satisfaction with life. Crista fits the criteria set for satisfaction/ dissatisfaction under activity theory. Conversely, disengagement theory does not explain her current level of being. Understanding the different theoretical perspectives mentioned in this article can help one make sense of their distinctive life journey and in some situations, it may be possible that this knowledge can be used to help improve ones’ present-day circumstances. References Hutchinson, E. D. (2010). A life course perspective. Retrieved from http://www.sagepub.com/hutchisonclc4e/study/chapter.htm Whitbourne, S.K., Whitbourne, S.B. (2014). Adult development and aging: Biopsychosocial perspectives (5th ed.) Hoboken, NJ Wiley.

Initiative 200 :: essays research papers

Affirmative Action Under Attack by Initiative 200?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Affirmative action is under heavy attack by initiative 200, and it should not be. It should not be under fire because it serves as an act of restitution for the discrimination and hurt that we have caused African-Americans and other minorities throughout this century. It is our job to repair and repay blacks because our performance in the past has immediately affected their present status.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Americans, especially white males until late, were not opposed to affirmative action. This is only because affirmative action primarily benefited white males. It was the privileges our colonial fathers established on the basis of race and gender that allowed white males to dominate the job market with little or no contention. Some even believe that affirmative action is preferential treatment for white males.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  White males have used race consistently in two ways since the Civil War: for the purpose of inclusion and exclusion. They have used race inclusively to benefit themselves and exclusively to deny opportunity to others. In the past, white males were preferred. In the present, however, affirmative action, though still based on race and gender, is used to include those who in the past were excluded. In more precise terms, with today’s affirmative action, or preferential treatment, we are attempting to adjust for the imbalances of the past that have been carried on into the present.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All of this seems so intuitively obvious, so why then can’t most Americans understand why affirmative action is obligatory? I believe the answer is as follows: Americans have refuse to recognize that there is and empirical relationship between the past and the present. They refuse to recognize that understanding the effects of past discrimination on the present is the key to explaining why affirmative action is not only needed in the present, but is the moral and political responsibility of so-called Christian nation. A recognition such as this would also demonstrate the inadequacies of present-day affirmative action. Affirmative action is a cheap price for blacks to settle for, given he way America has systematically discriminated against them in order to preserve and protect white male, and increasingly, white female privilege.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since the Civil War and up to the 1954 Brown vs. the Board of Education decision, African Americans have been denied equal access to higher education and the labor market, and they have been denied by law.

Comparing the Message of The Rhodera, Each and All, and Hamatreya :: comparison compare contrast essays

The Message of The Rhodera, Each and All, and Hamatreya We hear every day that we don’t appreciate nature and that we try and conquer it but I don’t think anyone actually thinks about what that means. These three combine to tell of nature and what Emerson appreciates about it. They also let nature have a "say" about what she thinks of humans. In "The Rhodora" a simple flower makes the speaker of the poem consider his own creation. He talks of the beauty of this flower and how it rivals the rose. As Sidney stated, "Emerson was really in touch with the beauty of nature." In other words, many people in their discussion focused on the fact that these poems brought to our attention the incredible beauty of nature that we often overlook. To me, it goes much farther. Finally he states, "in my simple ignorance, suppose The self-same Power that brought me there brought you." You can almost feel the light bulb go off over the speaker’s head when he realizes that he is a part of a larger creation. He isn’t separate from this flower; the same force brought both of them to this world. He states that he was ignorant. Most of us are ignorant of the fact that we are a part of a world that is made up of interlocking parts. We consider ourselves "the top of the food chain." (In reality if a lion got hungry enough he’d eat us too.) Plants thrive off of the carbon dioxide that we produce and we thrive off of the oxygen that they produce. Nature depends upon itself. We are part of that creation, not rulers over it. The speaker here finally realizes that both man and flower were put on this earth by the same force and we depend upon each other. Nature makes him reflect upon his own creation.(This is similar to the idea brought up in the web hypertext on Nature—"most people define nature as Not-human but we are natural beings." This poem is the realization of this statement.) In "Each and All" this idea is taken one step further. The speaker states, "Thy life to thy neighbor’s creed has lent. All are needed by each one." In other words, all parts of life depend upon other components of life. He also talks of how he removed things from nature and got them home and all of a sudden they don’t seem the way they were.

Digital Fortress Chapter 118-122

Chapter 118 â€Å"It's proof,† Fontaine said decidedly. â€Å"Tankado dumped the ring. He wanted it as far from himself as possible-so we'd never find it.† â€Å"But, Director,† Susan argued, â€Å"it doesn't make sense. If Tankado was unaware he'd been murdered, why would he give away the kill code?† â€Å"I agree,† Jabba said. â€Å"The kid's a rebel, but he's a rebel with a conscience. Getting us to admit to TRANSLTR is one thing; revealing our classified databank is another.† Fontaine stared, disbelieving. â€Å"You think Tankado wanted to stop this worm? You think his dying thoughts were for the poor NSA?† â€Å"Tunnel-block corroding!† a technician yelled. â€Å"Full vulnerability in fifteen minutes, maximum!† â€Å"I'll tell you what,† the director declared, taking control. â€Å"In fifteen minutes, every Third World country on the planet will learn how to build an intercontinental ballistic missile. If someone in this room thinks he's got a better candidate for a kill code than this ring, I'm all ears.† The director waited. No one spoke. He returned his gaze to Jabba and locked eyes. â€Å"Tankado dumped that ring for a reason, Jabba. Whether he was trying to bury it, or whether he thought the fat guy would run to a pay phone and call us with the information, I really don't care. But I've made the decision. We're entering that quote. Now.† Jabba took a long breath. He knew Fontaine was right-there was no better option. They were running out of time. Jabba sat. â€Å"Okay†¦ let's do it.† He pulled himself to the keyboard. â€Å"Mr. Becker? The inscription, please. Nice and easy.† David Becker read the inscription, and Jabba typed. When they were done, they double-checked the spelling and omitted all the spaces. On the center panel of the view wall, near the top, were the letters: QUISCUSTODIETIPSOSCUSTODES â€Å"I don't like it,† Susan muttered softly. â€Å"It's not clean.† Jabba hesitated, hovering over the ENTER key. â€Å"Do it,† Fontaine commanded. Jabba hit the key. Seconds later the whole room knew it was a mistake. Chapter 119 â€Å"It's accelerating!† Soshi yelled from the back of the room. â€Å"It's the wrong code!† Everyone stood in silent horror. On the screen before them was the error message: ILLEGAL ENTRY. NUMERIC FIELD ONLY. â€Å"Damn it!† Jabba screamed. â€Å"Numeric only! We're looking for a goddamn number! We're fucked! This ring is shit!† â€Å"Worm's at double speed!† Soshi shouted. â€Å"Penalty round!† On the center screen, right beneath the error message, the VR painted a terrifying image. As the third firewall gave way, the half-dozen or so black lines representing marauding hackers surged forward, advancing relentlessly toward the core. With each passing moment, a new line appeared. Then another. â€Å"They're swarming!† Soshi yelled. â€Å"Confirming overseas tie-ins!† cried another technician. â€Å"Word's out!† Susan averted her gaze from the image of the collapsing firewalls and turned to the side screen. The footage of Ensei Tankado's kill was on endless loop. It was the same every time-Tankado clutching his chest, falling, and with a look of desperate panic, forcing his ring on a group of unsuspecting tourists. It makes no sense, she thought. If he didn't know we'd killed him†¦ Susan drew a total blank. It was too late. We've missed something. On the VR, the number of hackers pounding at the gates had doubled in the last few minutes. From now on, the number would increase exponentially. Hackers, like hyenas, were one big family, always eager to spread the word of a new kill. Leland Fontaine had apparently seen enough. â€Å"Shut it down,† he declared. â€Å"Shut the damn thing down.† Jabba stared straight ahead like the captain of a sinking ship. â€Å"Too late, sir. We're going down.† Chapter 120 The four-hundred-pound Sys-Sec stood motionless, hands resting atop his head in a freeze-frame of disbelief. He'd ordered a power shutdown, but it would be a good twenty minutes too late. Sharks with high-speed modems would be able to download staggering quantities of classified information in that window. Jabba was awakened from his nightmare by Soshi rushing to the podium with a new printout. â€Å"I've found something, sir!† she said excitedly. â€Å"Orphans in the source! Alpha groupings. All over the place!† Jabba was unmoved. â€Å"We're looking for a numeric, dammit! Not an alpha! The kill-code is a number!† â€Å"But we've got orphans! Tankado's too good to leave orphans-especially this many!† The term â€Å"orphans† referred to extra lines of programming that didn't serve the program's objective in any way. They fed nothing, referred to nothing, led nowhere, and were usually removed as part of the final debugging and compiling process. Jabba took the printout and studied it. Fontaine stood silent. Susan peered over Jabba's shoulder at the printout. â€Å"We're being attacked by a rough draft of Tankado's worm?† â€Å"Polished or not,† Jabba retorted, â€Å"it's kicking our ass.† â€Å"I don't buy it,† Susan argued. â€Å"Tankado was a perfectionist. You know that. There's no way he left bugs in his program.† â€Å"There are lots of them!† Soshi cried. She grabbed the printout from Jabba and pushed it in front of Susan. â€Å"Look!† Susan nodded. Sure enough, after every twenty or so lines of programming, there were four free-floating characters. Susan scanned them. PFEE SESN RETM â€Å"Four-bit alpha groupings,† she puzzled. â€Å"They're definitely not part of the programming.† â€Å"Forget it,† Jabba growled. â€Å"You're grabbing at straws.† â€Å"Maybe not,† Susan said. â€Å"A lot of encryption uses four-bit groupings. This could be a code.† â€Å"Yeah.† Jabba groaned. â€Å"It says-‘Ha, ha. You're fucked.' † He looked up at the VR. â€Å"In about nine minutes.† Susan ignored Jabba and locked in on Soshi. â€Å"How many orphans are there?† Soshi shrugged. She commandeered Jabba's terminal and typed all the groupings. When she was done, she pushed back from the terminal. The room looked up at the screen. PFEE SESN RETM MFHA IRWE OOIG MEEN NRMA ENET SHAS DCNS IIAA IEER BRNK FBLE LODI Susan was the only one smiling. â€Å"Sure looks familiar,† she said. â€Å"Blocks of four-just like Enigma.† The director nodded. Enigma was history's most famous code-writing machine-the Nazis' twelve-ton encryption beast. It had encrypted in blocks of four. â€Å"Great.† He moaned. â€Å"You wouldn't happen to have one lying around, would you?† â€Å"That's not the point!† Susan said, suddenly coming to life. This was her specialty. â€Å"The point is that this is a code. Tankado left us a clue! He's taunting us, daring us to figure out the pass-key in time. He's laying hints just out of our reach!† â€Å"Absurd,† Jabba snapped. â€Å"Tankado gave us only one out-revealing TRANSLTR. That was it. That was our escape. We blew it.† â€Å"I have to agree with him,† Fontaine said. â€Å"I doubt there's any way Tankado would risk letting us off the hook by hinting at his kill-code.† Susan nodded vaguely, but she recalled how Tankado had given them NDAKOTA. She stared up at the letters wondering if he were playing another one of his games. â€Å"Tunnel block half gone!† a technician called. On the VR, the mass of black tie-in lines surged deeper into the two remaining shields. David had been sitting quietly, watching the drama unfold on the monitor before them. â€Å"Susan?† he offered. â€Å"I have an idea. Is that text in sixteen groupings of four?† â€Å"Oh, for Christ's sake,† Jabba said under his breath. â€Å"Now everyone wants to play?† Susan ignored Jabba and counted the groupings. â€Å"Yes. Sixteen.† â€Å"Take out the spaces,† Becker said firmly. â€Å"David,† Susan replied, slightly embarrassed. â€Å"I don't think you understand. The groupings of four are-â€Å" â€Å"Take out the spaces,† he repeated. Susan hesitated a moment and then nodded to Soshi. Soshi quickly removed the spaces. The result was no more enlightening. PFEESESNRETMPFHAIRWEOOIGMEENN RMAENETSHASDCNSIIAAIEERBRNKFBLELODI Jabba exploded. â€Å"ENOUGH! Playtime's over! This thing's on double-speed! We've got about eight minutes here! We're looking for a number, not a bunch of half-baked letters!† â€Å"Four by sixteen,† David said calmly. â€Å"Do the math, Susan.† Susan eyed David's image on the screen. Do the math? He's terrible at math! She knew David could memorize verb conjugations and vocabulary like a Xerox machine, but math†¦? â€Å"Multiplication tables,† Becker said. Multiplication tables, Susan wondered. What is he talking about? â€Å"Four by sixteen,† the professor repeated. â€Å"I had to memorize multiplication tables in fourth grade.† Susan pictured the standard grade school multiplication table. Four by sixteen. â€Å"Sixty-four,† she said blankly. â€Å"So what?† David leaned toward the camera. His face filled the frame. â€Å"Sixty-four letters†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Susan nodded. â€Å"Yes, but they're-† Susan froze. â€Å"Sixty-four letters,† David repeated. Susan gasped. â€Å"Oh my God! David, you're a genius!† Chapter 121 â€Å"Seven minutes!† a technician called out. â€Å"Eight rows of eight!† Susan shouted, excited. Soshi typed. Fontaine looked on silently. The second to last shield was growing thin. â€Å"Sixty-four letters!† Susan was in control. â€Å"It's a perfect square!† â€Å"Perfect square?† Jabba demanded. â€Å"So what?† Ten seconds later Soshi had rearranged the seemingly random letters on the screen. They were now in eight rows of eight. Jabba studied the letters and threw up his hands in despair. The new layout was no more revealing than the original. P F E E S E S N R E T M P F H A I R W E O O I G M E E N N R M A E N E T S H A S D C N S I I A A I E E R B R N K F B L E L O D I â€Å"Clear as shit.† Jabba groaned. â€Å"Ms. Fletcher,† Fontaine demanded, â€Å"explain yourself.† All eyes turned to Susan. Susan was staring up at the block of text. Gradually she began nodding, then broke into a wide smile. â€Å"David, I'll be damned!† Everyone on the podium exchanged baffled looks. David winked at the tiny image of Susan Fletcher on the screen before him. â€Å"Sixty-four letters. Julius Caesar strikes again.† Midge looked lost. â€Å"What are you talking about?† â€Å"Caesar box.† Susan beamed. â€Å"Read top to bottom. Tankado's sending us a message.† Chapter 122 â€Å"Six minutes!† a technician called out. Susan shouted orders. â€Å"Retype top to bottom! Read down, not across!† Soshi furiously moved down the columns, retyping the text. â€Å"Julius Caesar sent codes this way!† Susan blurted. â€Å"His letter count was always a perfect square!† â€Å"Done!† Soshi yelled. Everyone looked up at the newly arranged, single line of text on the wall-screen. â€Å"Still garbage,† Jabba scoffed in disgust. â€Å"Look at it. It's totally random bits of-† The words lodged in his throat. His eyes widened to saucers. â€Å"Oh†¦ oh my†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Fontaine had seen it too. He arched his eyebrows, obviously impressed. Midge and Brinkerhoff both cooed in unison. â€Å"Holy†¦ shit.† The sixty-four letters now read: PRIMEDIFFERENCEBETWEENELEMENTSRESPON SIBLEFORHIROSHIMAANDNAGASAKI â€Å"Put in the spaces,† Susan ordered. â€Å"We've got a puzzle to solve.†

Re likes to keep his players fit Essay

My main sources of data are the Internet and books. The website I am mainly using is http://www. ais. org. au/nutrition/FuelLeague. htm I have chosen this website because it give me a lot of information of diet and nutrition for rugby players, which is what my project is on. I have also been given a lot of my information from Mr Fitzpatrick about what he would like in the presentation as he is my user and I am doing the presentation for him. Also so I have used diets from official rugby players websites to add to my presentation. Validation explained. I think the data is valid because it is an official website and is updated regularly. The nutrition plans on it are also used by professional players as it states on the website. Some of the best rugby players in the world also use the nutrition plans, such as Keith wood and others. Also the information I collect from Mr Fitzpatrick is valid because he is my user and knows what he wants in the PowerPoint presentation. Also to stop my user from getting on slides that he doesn’t want to be on I have switched off slide transition. Data manipulation explained. During the presentation I intend to show rugby players how they can improve their fitness and diet on a screen. I intend to flick between slides with the click of a mouse but if I were going to let my end user perform the slide show I would have hyperlink slides. So it is easier to navigate around the slides. This would also make the slide show easier to work out for the presenter of the show. Alternative forms of output considered I have discussed that I could also put the presentation to a file or a disk to give to the rugby players and they watch it by themselves on their home computer. Also I could have printed it out into handout form and handed one each to all of the players. The presentation could be put on the school-shared network and all the players have to look it up by themselves in their own time and read it. Appropriate choices made and justified I have chosen the correct application package because it will be better for the presentation and it will be easier than you using any other applications. That is was I think anyway. I also think it is the right package because it will also be easy for the teachers to work. The project could not be printed out in hand out form because the paper may be lost of something may be spilled on them therefore making it impossible for the receiver to use it. If it is put on the shared network the players would have to go look it up in their spare time and most players would not use their spare time to look at it. If it is put on a disk for the players too look at it at home some of the players may not have a home computer therefore making it impossible for them too look st the presentation. Appropriate back up explained I am going to keep the extra copies of my project on my school server. And if I save onto the school server that straightaway backs it up so I can’t loose it. The user could make several copies of the presentation some on floppy disk and some on disk and they could be kept in a safe place so if one copy is lost they have always got a spare one to refer to. Appropriate security explained For security I could password protect my work so I and the teacher who I am doing the project for can only access it. It is also saved on a secure network so none of my colleagues can access the project. Also the network is backed up every night and that means that there will always be to copies of my project. Initial designs adequate and justified I handed my user all slides in a handout format and asked him to evaluate them all and write down any changes he wanted. He made several changes to my slides and I acted upon all these and corrected them all, as he wanted them. User interview recorded and acted on I asked many questions in my interview with my user and acted upon all his answers in the correct manner. The interview was done on a piece of paper with questions on and I had my user fit in the blank spaces with his answers. The interview is added on a piece of paper. Evidence of user feedback on designs On sheets attached Final design described in detail All the way through the presentation I used the font verdana and all the way through I have also used the same colour background so some of them don’t look odd compared to the rest of them. But there is one exception to that which is the opening slide where it is a picture of Hymers playing in a game of rugby. Also on every slide there is a hyperlink to another page and there is also a picture on ever slide during the presentation. Top down system diagram On paper attached Full and effective test plan devised On paper attached Validation checks tested To stop my user from going on slides that he doesn’t want to be on by clicking in the wrong place on the slide I have switched off slide transition, this stops the user from clicking on the background and it taking him to a slide where he doesn’t want to be. Annotated hardcopy of implementation On paper attached Annotated hardcopy of test plan. On paper attached Have all errors been corrected After carrying out my test plan fully and effectively I have found that I have no errors that need to be corrected but if any do occur later on I will write then on at the end. Original objectives fully evaluated 1. He asked for movies such as fitness techniques such as star jumps and press-ups, which I added several of. 2. Every 8-10 slides will have pictures on but I put a picture on every slide. 3. He also asked me to research and suggest fitness plans and healthy eating plans so I added 3 healthy eating plans. 4. I also added colourful designs, which my user added I did this by using a blue and white background on every slide. 5. I also used a picture of the Hymers first team playing rugby on the opening page. Written evidence of user acceptance On paper attached Comments critical and relevant Further enhancements for the future I could add more slides to the presentation and maybe change the colour of some slides as the same colour on every slide may look a bit boring. I could also use some different pictures as some of them are a bit blared on some of the slides.