Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Carbon Footprint
24.8 tons of CO2. That is my carbon footprint. 33% of that is from commuting to USF. Food and services make up more than 50% of it. These three thing are hard to cut out of my life to reduce my carbon footprint. I cant afford living on campus, so that could not be cost effective. There is no public transportation that runs from my house to USF. If I was able to live on campus, my transportation footprint would be reduced, but my housing footprint would grow. For me to try to reduce my footprint, it would cost way too much. I already have one of the best cars for the enviroment that is within my budget. I drive a civic and get about 31 miles per gallon. Not much room for improvement without spending tons of money on a hybrid, but even then they are not that much better, and replacing something by buying new rarly is a smart move for the enviroment. Right now, although i haven't been trying, i am really living as "green" as my budget allows.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
One Challange
The biggest problem my friends and I will face in the next four years will be unemployment. We are in college now to get a degree to enable us to get a good job. If the economy is suffering, finding a job will be significantly more difficult. Right now, I am a computer science major. The field of computers is a huge field with plenty of jobs, so I probably wouldn't have too much of a problem finding a job, however, I am considering changing to photography. That would make it a bit harder for me to find work. There really isn't much we can personally do to curb this problem except take care of ourselves and not give up on the job search. To solve this problem, what really needs to happen is for businesses to stop outsourcing jobs and allow us Americans to hold jobs with them, even if that means less profit. Since companies will never do anything against their own self interest, the government will have to step in to provide incentive to create American jobs. Also, the minimum wage cannot be raised, or the unemployment will also rise. If companies have to pay more for the same amount of work, they will hire less people. What we can personally do is work hard to get our degrees and build a strong resume and make ourselves desirable to employers. That is all i can do at the moment to overcome the suffering economy and avoid unemployment.
Friday, October 10, 2008
2 articles
Violence in video games has been a hot topic for a while. Some blame video games for real life acts of violence while others defend the games saying they are art and even claiming they may actually help decrease real world violence.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16099971/
The above is one such article that claims video games contribute to violent behavior. The article focuses on scientific studies that look at the brain activity of kids as they play violent games. The results of the study show that violence in games does have a negative effect on brain activity, but the study does not show how that translates into real actions. The article warns readers to be aware of the effects on a players brain, but does not explain what the consequences of those effects are. At the end of he article it goes off on a small tangent and talks about the growing obesity epidemic in America. This only serves to weaken the overall effectiveness of the article.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514213432.htm
In this second article, the author argues that violence in video games does not contribute to real world violence but instead it may actually decrease it. The author, like the author of the previous article, acknowledges the study that links violent games to increased brain activity, but this article points out that that link is unimportant unless more evidence is found that proves it causes real harm. To prove his point, the author cites statistics, showing that real world violence has actually decreased since the release of violent games. The author does admit that research is inconclusive, but the fact that violence has not increased with the advent of violent games is a very good argument against games as a harmful influence on kids.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16099971/
The above is one such article that claims video games contribute to violent behavior. The article focuses on scientific studies that look at the brain activity of kids as they play violent games. The results of the study show that violence in games does have a negative effect on brain activity, but the study does not show how that translates into real actions. The article warns readers to be aware of the effects on a players brain, but does not explain what the consequences of those effects are. At the end of he article it goes off on a small tangent and talks about the growing obesity epidemic in America. This only serves to weaken the overall effectiveness of the article.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514213432.htm
In this second article, the author argues that violence in video games does not contribute to real world violence but instead it may actually decrease it. The author, like the author of the previous article, acknowledges the study that links violent games to increased brain activity, but this article points out that that link is unimportant unless more evidence is found that proves it causes real harm. To prove his point, the author cites statistics, showing that real world violence has actually decreased since the release of violent games. The author does admit that research is inconclusive, but the fact that violence has not increased with the advent of violent games is a very good argument against games as a harmful influence on kids.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Advergames
Two games that really stand out as advergames can be found at:
http://www.millsberry.com/
http://www.click4obama.com/
These games serve only one purpose: to get people interested in what they are selling. They are mildly entertaining, just fun enough to get people to try them long enough to get their product into their head. These advergames are fairly effective, especially with younger audiences who are more easily influenced by video games.
http://www.millsberry.com/
http://www.click4obama.com/
These games serve only one purpose: to get people interested in what they are selling. They are mildly entertaining, just fun enough to get people to try them long enough to get their product into their head. These advergames are fairly effective, especially with younger audiences who are more easily influenced by video games.
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