(ASSIGNED)

LASA 1—Analytical Summaries

Marcy A. James

Argosy University

HUM200

Summary of Article 1

Many psychologists argue that violent video games "socialize" children over time, prompting them to imitate the behavior of the game's characters, the cartoonish machismo, the hair-trigger rage, the dismissive brutality. Children also imitate flesh and blood people in their lives, of course -- parents, friends, teachers, siblings -- and one question that researchers have not yet answered is when, exactly, a habit is so consuming that its influence trumps the socializing effects of other major figures in a child's life.

Supported Claims

· The young men who opened fire at Columbine High School, at the movie theater in Aurora, Colo., and in other massacres had this in common: they were video gamers who seemed to be acting out some dark digital fantasy. It was as if all that exposure to computerized violence gave them the idea to go on a rampage -- or at least fueled their urges.

· Christopher Barlett, a psychologist at Iowa State University, led a research team that had 47 undergraduates play "Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance" for 15 minutes. Afterward, the team took various measures of arousal, both physical and psychological. It also tested whether the students would behave more aggressively, by having them dole out hot sauce to a fellow student who, they were told, did not like spicy food but had to swallow the sauce.

Evidence: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/science/studying-the-effects-of-playing-violent-video-games.html

Supporting Points

· He provided true evidence that's based on the New York Times. If you Google it, I’m sure it will pop up.

· His aggression towards video gaming shows a comparison to the given tragedies.

· His explanation sounds logical that if you like what you watch, and then maybe it will interest you to do it.

The author's word choice gives the reader research, facts and studies about his appeal. His tone of word usage seems to have a point. He nominated each factor to be proven and taught from real life tragedies. This article, states an opinion and a few documentaries to cover his claim.

Transition

Social scientists have been studying and debating the effects of media violence on behavior since the 1950s, and video games in particular since the 1980s. The issue is especially relevant today, because the games are more realistic and bloodier than ever, and because most American boys play them at some point. Girls play at lower rates and are significantly less likely to play violent games. A burst of new research has begun to clarify what can and cannot be said about the effects of violent gaming. Playing the games can and does stir hostile urges and mildly aggressive behavior in the short term. Moreover, youngsters who develop a gaming habit can become slightly more aggressive -- as measured by clashes with peers, for instance -- at least over a period of a year or two.

-FROM-

"We found that higher rates of violent video game sales related to a decrease in crimes, and especially violent crimes," said Dr. Ward, whose co-authors were A. Scott Cunningham of Baylor University and Benjamin Engelstätter of the Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim, Germany. No one knows for sure what these findings mean. It may be that playing video games for hours every day keeps people off the streets who would otherwise be getting into trouble. It could be that the games provide "an outlet" that satisfies violent urges in some players -- a theory that many psychologists dismiss but that many players believe.

Explanation: The transitioning in believing that playing violent video games will increase crime, from; It may be that playing video games for hours every day keeps people off the streets who would otherwise be getting into trouble. That's a complete change up in progress.

The information does have logical connections; that you are what you watch, eat and maintain. If you are completely interested in something you like; then maybe you have the intentions of doing it. It's totally understandable. Example; A that child loves to watch Batman; He'll want to buy his costume and be him one day. Too much exposure of things that interest you will probably inspire you to be like it to.

Summary Article 2

Plenty of games feature depictions of so-called enhanced interrogation, but too few are willing to interrogate the act itself. To this end, game developers seem hesitant to use gaming's greatest strength -- interactivity -- to their advantage. Unsurprisingly, the few games this year that did say something worthwhile about torture did so by making players complicit in the act.

Supported Claims

· Merritt Kopas, proposed late last year, "but that they lie to us about what violence is." Violence comes in all shapes and sizes; it is not simply a means with which to clear the virtual chess board and vanquish foes. Violence can be cathartic or traumatic, and it can be deeply personal. It can bring two people closer together or sunder them forever. It can also be systemic, bigger than any of us may comprehend.

Evidence: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/27/game-theory-exploring- meaningful-violence/ and http://www.globenews24.com/EN/news,artsbeat-game- theory-exploring-meaningful-violence.

Explanation: If his status wasn't true then it wouldn't be all over Globe News or New York Times.

The evidence does demonstrate relevance because violence does come in all shapes and sizes. Violence has been committing itself for years and not just the exposure to video games. Many factors are a form of jealousy, anger, economic, power, boredom, fear, peer pressure and the list goes on. The person may need psychological help or have a disability, an example will be schizophrenia, and this may intimidate such a behavior.

Supportive Examples

· Documentary Example 1: After her gay son was bullied in school and administrators didn't do enough to stop it, Chelisa Grimes decided to do something to protect her son: she sent him to school with a stun gun. "I brought the stun gun 'cause I wasn't safe," the 17-year-old said.

Evidence: http://www.oddee.com/item_98356.aspx

· Documentary Example 2: As Obama struggles to get the debt ceiling passed, the reality of social injustice, especially for African Americans and the economically disenfranchised, is being avoided, ignored and swept under the rug. For example, in Louisiana, a homeless man robbed a bank and took a single $100 bill. After feeling bad and even knowing the money could be used to help him find food and shelter, he returned the same bill to the Louisiana bank he took it from and surrendered to police the same day.

Evidence: http://rollingout.com/politics/homeless-man-gets-15-years-for-100- ceo-gets-3-years-for-3-billion/#_

· Documentary Example 3: MANILA, Philippines - Barely three weeks after a student of the University of the Philippines-Manila took her life over failure to pay tuition, two students in Batangas shot themselves dead after receiving failing grades in separate incidents Friday afternoon.

Evidence: http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/04/08/928172/2-students- commit-suicide-over-failing-grades

These are three examples of why the evidence shows consistency from real life stories. This allows you to know that crime involves in different reasons and not just inspired video gaming.

The evidence does show good transparency of the real world. The challenges we face today like fear, anger or doubt can trigger on such behavior. These are things we face in everyday life that oppose to these re-actions. If we’re angry; we'll get emotionally irritated or act somewhat aggressive. If we are feeling sad, we may cry. I'm sure we all know what these feelings may encounter. It's a clear transparency of acting how you feel. So therefore; committing crimes or doing anything comes in many shapes and sizes.

The evidence does have speculation because there is evidence of the 2nd party. As stated; Merritt Kopas, proposed late last year, "but that they lie to us about what violence is." Violence comes in all shapes and sizes; it is not simply a means with which to clear the virtual chess board and vanquish foes. Violence can be cathartic or traumatic, and it can be deeply personal. It can bring two people closer together or sunder them forever. It can also be systemic, bigger than any of us may comprehend.

The author’s word choice seems self explanatory, meaning; that he is addressing his opinion without much clarification. He is re-assuring to cover his claim with the best conflict towards it, which set's a tone itself.

Transition

This year, I've found myself more interested in how video games are violent than why they are. What makes the violence in one game more meaningful than it is in another? BioShock Infinite and The Last of Us, two of the most talked-about action games of 2013, tell stories of a man and a young woman fighting through dangerous territory, killing dozens of nameless bad guys. So why am I bored by combat in BioShock Infinite but exhilarated by The Last of Us?

-FROM-

Instead of feeling transformative or powerful, however, violence in BioShock Infinite felt gratuitous. Why, I wondered toward the end, am I endlessly pumping rockets into the screaming, magically levitating ghost of my sidekick’s mother? Why must every room fill with fleets of replicate bad guys I am forced to kill with a spinning hook blade? Am I supposed to find this horrifying, or cool? I felt inundated with so much ridiculous, anonymous shooting that it was difficult for me to care about any of it. It's hard to imagine a more personal and specific form of violence than torture, and that's where almost every mainstream action game this year fell right on its face. Torture is unpleasant, we are often told by video games, but it works, delivering accurate, actionable information. Yet the realities of torture are far murkier than most fictional narratives, game or otherwise, suggest.

This is totally a transition from loving the violence of video games from feeling persuaded in a way to think it can be torturous or wrong.

The logical connection towards the author and his passage is a person that enjoys playing video games. His main concept is to give a good reason why he agrees to do what he likes best and that's playing violent video games. It's a physical connection to all gamers that loves this, such as kids, teens and young adults. This isn't logical for everyone, because not everyone enjoys violent video games. The people, who don't enjoy it, can't really relate to him.

References

Studying the Effects of Playing Violent Video Games - NYTimes.com. 2014. Studying

the Effects of Playing Violent Video Games - NYTimes.com. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/science/studying-the-effects-of-playing-violent-video-games.html. [Accessed 16 July 2014].

Anon, (2014). [online] Available at: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/27/game- theory-exploring- meaningful-violence/ [Accessed 16 Jul. 2014].

Globenews24.com, (2014). ArtsBeat: Game Theory: Exploring Meaningful Violence –

Culture - News all over the world 24 hours a day! Breaking news, hot news, opinions, articles, international resources - GlobeNews24.com. [online] Available at: http://www.globenews24.com/EN/news,artsbeat-game- theory-exploring-meaningful-violence. [Accessed 16 Jul. 2014].

Murano, G. (2014). 8 Most Shocking Bullying Stories. [online] ODDEE. Available at: http://www.oddee.com/item_98356.aspx [Accessed 10 Aug. 2012].

Rolling Out, (2011). Homeless Man Gets 15 Years for $100; CEO Gets 3 Years for $3 Billion - Rolling Out. [online] Available at:

http://rollingout.com/politics/homeless-man-gets-15-years-for-100-ceo-gets-3-years-for-3-billion/#_ [Accessed 16 Jul. 2014].

Philstar.com, (2014). | philstar.com. [online] Available at: http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/04/08/928172/2-students-

commit-suicide-over-failing-grades [Accessed 16 Jul. 2014].