Edward Snowden: Traitor or Hero?

I was surprised by the poll from the Huffington Post. It said 51% of American citizens thought Snowden was some sort of a hero, while 49% thought he was a traitor. I thought the majority of citizens would have thought he was some sort of traitor. I believe he is a hero on some level. He did do the citizens of America a favor by telling us about this great injustice, I think there could have been a better way to go about it. I am not sure what that way would have been, but I am sure there could have been a better way.

Link to article: www.huffingtonpost.com

MLA Formatting: Edwards-Levy, Ariel. "Americans Still Can't Decide Whether Edward Snowden Is A 'Traitor' Or A 'Hero,' Poll Finds." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 30 Oct. 2013. Web. 22 Nov. 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/30/edward-snowden-poll_n_4175089.html>.

Blog post for 11/21, originally posted 11/8 games

My blog post this week is about the games I played on Monday during class. Since I have previously blogged about, and played Phone Story so I am familiar with games that advocate a social action message. A game I have played was Personal Trip to the Moon. I really did not understand this game at all, and did not play it for that long. I was not sure what the point of this game was. The next game I played was called Clockwork Cat. It was a fun and simple game. I enjoyed the game for the most part, it was relatively simple. The character was a cat and the goal of the game was to maneuver through a maze which was in the air while trying to turn back time with doughnut looking objects. If the large clock in the back ground hit midnight, you lost. There was also candy looking icons which did something, but I'm not sure what exactly. The next game I played was called Those Darn Nipples. This game was quite weird to say the very least. The goal of the game was to align the nipples of different sized breasts and there were incorrectly placed nipples to throw the user off. Like I said, very weird. The next game I played was called Unmanned. This game, unlike the games before it, had a social justice aspect to it. The main character to this game was a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) operator. The social justice aspect being highlighted is to alert the people who are playing this game to covert military operations that are occurring in the Middle East. While this is happening the game is implying that video games stress a militaristic environment today.  

Digital Story - Annotated Bibliography

Digital Story Annotated Bibliography

"Genre and Game Studies: Toward a Critical Approach to Video Game Genres." Genre and Game Studies: Toward a Critical Approach to Video Game Genres. Sage Journals, n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://sag.sagepub.com/content/37/1/6.short>.

This source is from Sagepub.com and pertains to violent video games by saying there are several different genres of video games today which are loosely connected. This separates people into two groups. Narratologists stress narrative as the primary way to understand games. While Ludologists do not stress narrative.

Anderson, Craig A. "An Update on the Effects of Playing Violent Video Games." An Update on the Effects of Playing Violent Video Games. Science Direct, Feb. 2004. Web. 04 Nov. 2013. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140197103000976>.

School shootings have significantly increased since 1997, almost one every year since then and several other instances of violent actions across the US. This can be attributed to video games according to the article. One study used modern techniques to combine the results of empirical studies of violent video game effects on five types of outcome variables: aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, helping behavior, and physiological arousal. The study found significant effects of violent video games in all 5 categories.

"Violent Video Game Effects on Aggression, Empathy, and Prosocial Behavior in Eastern and Western Countries: A Meta-analytic Review." Psycnet.org. PsycNet, Mar. 2010. Web. 07 Nov. 2013. <http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/bul/136/2/151/>.

A study’s evidence showed exposure to violent video games caused a heightened chance for increased aggressive behavior. The study also showed there were minor differences in different cultures vulnerability to more violent actions, and there were no differences with different sexes being affected differently.

Anderson, Craig A. "Violent Video Games: Myths, Facts, and Unanswered Questions." Tomorrow Counseling. Psychological Science Agenda, Oct. 2003. Web. 05 Nov. 2013. <http://www.tomorrowcounseling.com/TDE_CMS/database/userfiles/Violence%20in%20Video%20Games(1).pdf>.

This source uses Craig Anderson again and goes through a brief history of violent video games with the features that renewed interest in the debate of violent video games. Then it lists several myths and truths of violent video game surveys and studies that includes older studies and newer more advanced studies.

Call of Duty. "Call of Duty: Ghosts Trailer." YouTube.com. YouTube, 02 Nov. 2013. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNxh7umVOZ0>.
         This is a trailer for the very popular Call of Duty: Ghosts game, which is the latest in the Call of Duty              series. The trailer is graphic and violent with four friends having an “epic night out” (that is the name of            the trailer). The video shows machine guns, a rocket launcher, and even a helicopter between the four            friends and the bad guys. The video ends with a helicopter being blown out of the sky and the caption            “there’s a solider in all of us” saying everyone should play this violent game.

Playstation. "Official PlayStation 4 Perfect Day Commercial." YouTube. YouTube.com, 14 Oct. 2013. Web. 02 Nov. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0d9d-cdxhk>.

This is a trailer for the new Play Station four and shows two friends in three separate games. The two friends are fighting in a rivalry in all three games. The song that goes along with the trailer is saying how the two friends are having the best day ever, saying if you play this game you will have a lot of fun and the best day ever.

Dickinson, Amy. "Video Playground." Ebsco Host. Time, 5 Aug. 2000. Web. 16 Nov. 2013. <http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/detail?sid=8d3dcc05-4d55-46cc-b96b-53ddc063819c%40sessionmgr115&vid=7&hid=106&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#db=tth&AN=3043371>.

This source uses reports from a study that says violent video games can contribute to violent behavior in “real life” as it says in the article. The game sites a few very graphic games such as Doom and Mortal Kombat. It also brings up Columbine as a reference to what violent video games can do to kids. This article even goes as far as to suggest less violent games for kids to play such as Donkey Kong and Crash Team Racing. 

Prezi for gender roles

Prezi link: http://prezi.com/f4hxsll72cy_/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

Digital Story - Proposal

I.                    For my Digital Story proposal I have decided to do it as an outline

A.                  Violent Video games are affecting kids attitudes and behavior in a negative way

1.                  Kids are becoming more violent because of certain video games

2.                  Kids behavior is being negatively affected by replicating actions seen in video games

a)                  Ex: Grand Theft Auto series

b)                  School shootings have become more and more common since 1997

B.                  Video games strive to achieve a “M” rating

1.                  Kids who play violent video games want a gory, violent game

a)                  Game producers are responding to the demand for a more violent game by increasing the violence, blood, and foul language used

2.                  Graphics are becoming more and more life-like which users enjoy

a)                  Kids want a more life-like game

C.                  Advertisements for games/consoles encourage violence

1.                  Kids playing video games act as if they are soldiers

a)                  New Call of Duty: Ghosts game uses advertisement saying “There’s a solider in all of us”

(1)               Game encourages violent gameplay by telling consumers to release the solider within themselves

2.                  Advertisements use violence as an incentive to play their game/console

a)                  Play station 4 “perfect day” ad uses three games which contain violence in all of them

(1)               Ad depicts a “perfect day” by playing violent games as a perfect day. There are two characters singing a cheerful” perfect day” song while acting violently. The song says how the characters would not want to spend the day any other way, or with anyone else. This is suggesting they are friends.

(a)               First game-section is a duel between two middle age soldiers  where the one clearly kills the other before the camera jumps to the second ad

(b)               The second game is between the two same characters who are now racing. The one driver runs the other driver into the guard wall which then flips the driver.

(c)                The third game is a futuristic game where both characters now have armies and are shooting laser guns at each other, still while happily singing.

D.                 Studies conclude that violent video games make kids more violent

1.                  Not all studies prove that video games are a link to more violent tendencies

a)                  Not all studies of any subject prove a certain point 100% of the time

"Genre and Game Studies: Toward a Critical Approach to Video Game Genres." Genre and Game Studies: Toward a Critical Approach to Video Game Genres. Sage Journals, n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://sag.sagepub.com/content/37/1/6.short>.

Anderson, Craig A. "An Update on the Effects of Playing Violent Video Games." An Update on the Effects of Playing Violent Video Games. Science Direct, Feb. 2004. Web. 04 Nov. 2013. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140197103000976>.

"Violent Video Game Effects on Aggression, Empathy, and Prosocial Behavior in Eastern and Western Countries: A Meta-analytic Review." Psycnet.org. PsycNet, Mar. 2010. Web. 07 Nov. 2013. <http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/bul/136/2/151/>.

Anderson, Craig A. "Violent Video Games: Myths, Facts, and Unanswered Questions." Tomorrow Counseling. Psychological Science Agenda, Oct. 2003. Web. 05 Nov. 2013. <http://www.tomorrowcounseling.com/TDE_CMS/database/userfiles/Violence%20in%20Video%20Games(1).pdf>.

Call of Duty. "Call of Duty: Ghosts Trailer." YouTube.com. YouTube, 02 Nov. 2013. Web. 6 Nov. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNxh7umVOZ0>.

Blog post for 11/8 Games

My blog post this week is about the games I played on Monday during class. Since I have previously blogged about, and played Phone Story so I am familiar with games that advocate a social action message. A game I have played was Personal Trip to the Moon. I really did not understand this game at all, and did not play it for that long. I was not sure what the point of this game was. The next game I played was called Clockwork Cat. It was a fun and simple game. I enjoyed the game for the most part, it was relatively simple. The character was a cat and the goal of the game was to maneuver through a maze which was in the air while trying to turn back time with doughnut looking objects. If the large clock in the back ground hit midnight, you lost. There was also candy looking icons which did something, but I'm not sure what exactly. The next game I played was called Those Darn Nipples. This game was quite weird to say the very least. The goal of the game was to align the nipples of different sized breasts and there were incorrectly placed nipples to throw the user off. Like I said, very weird. The next game I played was called Unmanned. This game, unlike the games before it, had a social justice aspect to it. The main character to this game was a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) operator. The social justice aspect being highlighted is to alert the people who are playing this game to covert military operations that are occurring in the Middle East. While this is happening the game is implying that video games stress a militaristic environment today.  

Discussion questions for 11/06

Discussion questions for 11/06

1. Why do you think video games are so important today in society?

2. What do you think video games are good for?

3. Would you play a video game for a social action cause?

4. When you play a video game what insights does the game provide you?

5. How can a video game can influence your views?

Blog Post for 11/1 on SAP project

My post this week is about my group's SAP project, and has to do with a charity my group has selected to be a part of our SAP project. The charity is called FOTC, Friends of the Congo, and has its own website, friendsofthecongo.org. FOTC has two objectives. First being to create networks across the world to connect the Congolese with others internationally. The second being to work with the Congolese to realize the enormous human and natural potential in the Congo.  FOTC has several different aspects of their charity. One aspect is their Youth Program called the Congo Connect Youth Project. It raises money to establish youth centers to raise the standard of living for the 32 million children fourteen and under living in the Congo. Sixty four percent of the 75 million people living in the Congo are twenty four years old or younger. This project creates youth centers called Technology Networking Centers that raise the standard of living by giving the Congolese access to computers, internet, and other digital means. These TNC's would be built by donations, monetary and digital items, given to FOTC, currently there are 3 centers in the Congo. Other ways a person could help with FOTC if they wanted to are teach-ins, making a financial donation, donating digital equipment, organizing a FOTC representative to come to a person's local community, or hosting a Congo Week in a person's community. Congo Week is FOTC's main goal is to educate people on the issues going on in the Congo and to break the silence.

Charity source - http://www.friendsofthecongo.org/strategic-overview-117.html
Population source - https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cg.html