Working memory Essay Example for Free

Working memory Essay In today’s society, video games are becoming ever more popular and the more popularity video games receive, the more research that will be done on the topic. Many years ago you may have heard of Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and of course the â€Å"classic† Super Mario. Today we have better technology and millions of different games out there that can put gamers in tough situations and can lure them to play for hours upon hours. With the gamer population reaching over 90 million in the past decade, their strengths and weaknesses will have a huge impact on society (NBC News). The question is, do video games actually improve cognition and have positive effects on people and how the games can improve learning skills? Loftus, Geoffrey R. , and Elizabeth F. Loftus. Mind at Play: The Psychology of Video Games. New York, NY: Basic, 1983. Print. Pgs 46-54 This book examines the psychological processes involved in playing video games, discusses behavior problems frequent players can develop, and compares video games to other fads of the past. The chapter that I look at specifically is Chapter 3: Games and The Cognitive System. This chapter goes over the aspects of the mind which requires complex thinking and actions to do certain operations when playing video games. A major theme is the different strategies that can be used for accomplishing the mental goals—like the goal to be good at playing video games. There are sections within the chapter. The sections that I will be evaluating is Attention and Memory. In the first section Attention Geoffrey Loftus explains that attention is the filtering process and people generally filter information very efficiently. Attention is used in everyday life. The author goes in depth on how people use their attention and to play certain games. The ability to manipulate your attention and be able to focus on one object and then (within a millisecond) be able to focus on another object. This is the key to video games and improving your skills. The author’s evidence he used, he applied to scenarios that people encounter all the time. They used the example of when you are talking in a group of people and the person on the left is talking to and you quickly shift your attention to the person on your right. The change in attention didn’t require you to move a muscle, instead it was all done with your mind. Another great example they gave is when you are trying to destroy all the helicopters in the air when you realize they start dropping paratroopers. You then start concentrating more on the paratroopers because they are going to be closer to you. The argument they gave was that your attention process can only take in one set of information at a time. This section Attention will be useful to support my argument because the authors explained that the more you used your selective attention the better and faster you would get at filtering information. Thus, it backs up my claim on how video games improve cognition. The other section I reviewed is Memory. The authors explained that Memory has two parts: Long-term and Short-Term. Short-term is generally identified as consciousness and very small capacity for ideas. Long-term memory contains information like our name and ability to speak a language and so on. The storage space is virtually unlimited. The authors make the claim that not only the memory (that your brain can handle) is important, but the speed at which you can manipulate that stored information is very important. They researched and found out reminiscence plays a big part in video games. This is the ability to play games one day and come back the next day and improve your skills or just be able to understand and play the game without relearning the aspect. The evidence the authors used were great examples. The first I want to point out is Short-term memory is like the amplifier in the stereo system; it’s the heart of the system, and it’s important to learn to use it as efficiently as possible. He gave many other examples that helped the reader understand how the memory is being used and manipulated while playing video games. This section is very useful to support my claim. It provides people with the background information about skills that you use while playing video games. It also proved that when you use your memory the better it gets. Green, C. Shawn, and Daphne Bavelier. The Cognitive Neuroscience of Video Games. N. p. : n. p. , n. d. PDF. Green and Bavelier start off by talking about the effects of video games on reaction time and visual-motor coordination. They then go on to explain the effects of spatial skills, attention, brain changes due to video games, and the uses for video games. The topic of brain changes due to video games is the topic that I will examine the closest. The main argument he makes in the section of his journal is that the brain releases significant amounts of dopamine while playing video games. And dopamine has a part in many important functions in the brain, playing a role in cognition, punishment, motivation, attention, mood, sleep, voluntary movement, learning and working memory. Thus, the more dopamine means that you could be able to learn more efficiently. Green and Bavelier use a lot of research from other academic journals, books and psychological tests performed. The argument was very strong because he used actual tests that have been performed so the evidence is solid and backs up his argument well. The only question I have about his argument is what might be the side effects of too much dopamine or is the brain limited to producing a certain amount of dopamine. Overall, the source helped me understand how video games produce more dopamine and how it effects learning. The authors were confident in what they said. This will help readers understand how people learn and how videos games help your brain. Way, J. (2011). Video games as learning tools: A library perspective. Access, 25(2), 10-16. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/868572874?accountid=14576 This article/entry describes and explains the benefit behind games made for learning and games that aren’t necessarily made for learning but helped students with other aspects of life. Judith Way, a teacher and librarian at a high-school, explained that she used several different video games to help students learn: My Word Coach and Guitar Hero, yes guitar Hero! She concluded that the games and programs she used was very helpful for more dense learning with children and not only learning but better attitudes and relationships with teachers and students. She also noted that the kids were much more interested in school and participating than ever before. Judith makes a very strong argument about video games and learning. The reason it is strong is because she conducted the study herself and could personally see changes in the students. Her evidence she presented was in the form of graphs that were clear and depicted gain in most cases. She also provided examples by children themselves. There was sufficient evidence that supported learning can be improved by video games. The piece of work will be very helpful on giving an outlook on how video games can improve learning and learning skills. This article can also help give an insight on how they can improve video games to get more positive outcomes in learning. Prot, Sara, MA, Katelyn A. McDonald, Craig A. Anderson, PhD, and Douglas A. Gentile, PhD. VVideo Games: Good, Bad, or Other? Pediatric Clinics of North America59. 3 (2012): n. pag. Print. This article provides an overview of research findings on the positive and negative effects of video games, thus providing an empirical answer to the question, are video games good or bad? The article also provides some guidelines to help pediatricians, parents, and other caregivers protect children from negative effects and to maximize positive effects of video games. This article offers the opposite of my argument. It is a very strong argument that will help me understand the other side and give me an understanding that along with positive effects there are negative too. The authors have consolidated a lot of research they did into one paper. The research comes from a lot of trials and studies conducted on kids playing video games. The evidence that she gave was quality research and she presented all her data in nice organized tables. This article helps me recognize the opposite side of my proposal. This source will help me give evidence of the opposite view and statistics so that I can counter argue the ideas. This source narrows the topic of video games to violent videos which isn’t necessarily what I am writing about but it still gives a lot of negative effects that can come from video games in general. This research that I have done will greatly help narrow my topic to a more specific idea and it reassures my views on the topic. Once I narrow my topic even more I can get even more specific details. And more details means a better argument. Even though I have found out that there are positive ways that video games effect people, I have also noticed that research proves there are many negative effects too. This will help me in my argument to provide specific examples where only positive effects can happen.

The Dynamic Use of Symbolism in Shampoo Planet Essay -- Shampoo Planet

The Dynamic Use of Symbolism in Shampoo Planet Douglas Coupland has been called the voice of Generation X by his critics because of his writing techniques, which deal mainly with youthful ideals. Most of his works involve young characters searching for truth and answers for their self-involved questions. Despite many of his novels having a dim outlook, he incorporates humor and optimism into them, which creates a balance between wittiness and mockery. In Shampoo Planet Tyler Johnson, the narrator, struggles to find his identity throughout the novel. This is portrayed through Coupland’s vivid use of imagery, which is abundant throughout the novel. Many of Tyler’s intellectual qualities help him adapt and cope with many of the situations he faces; but many of his emotional and moral qualities strive to change who he is and what he wants out of life. As Tyler’s outlook on life transforms, the vivid use of symbolism corresponds to his changing attitude. Tyler, a resident of Lancaster, Washington, lives with his hippie mother, Jasmine, and two siblings, Daisy and Mark. In search for excitement, he plans to take a summer vacation backpacking through Europe. Before his trip, he had a very comfortable relationship with Anna-Louise, a down to earth and very reserved girl attending the same college. However, in Europe, Tyler meets a French girl named Stephanie, who is very exotic and exciting to him and was the complete opposite of Anna-Louise. When Stephanie comes to visit Tyler in Lancaster, Anna-Louise learns of the brief affair Tyler and Stephanie had in Europe. Tyler then ends his relationship with Anna-Louise and moves to California with Stephanie. In the beginning of the novel, Tyler is seen as a relatively happy, care free, and motivated twenty year old man. As his life progresses, his attitude and outlook on life changes dramatically. In one passage from the beginning of the novel, Tyler states that â€Å"I have a plan†¦I have a good car and a wide assortment of excellent hair-care products. I know what I want from life; I have ambition.†(13). He has such excitement about what will happen in his life down the road. He claims that he wants to own a hotel when he gets older because â€Å"in a hotel room you have no history†¦You feel like you’re all potential waiting to be rewritten, like a crisp, blank sheet of 8  ½-by-11-inch white bond paper. There is ... ...ld they find? Turn on the shower.† (133). Tyler believes that if he keeps himself clean, then he will not become poor. His shampoo is his key to becoming what he wants to. Douglas Coupland’s use of symbolism in Shampoo Planet helps paint a vivid picture of Tyler and his struggles throughout his life. The extensive use of symbolism made the book more interesting and helped me relate to Tyler more as a person than a character. Tyler’s constant changing made the story unpredictable and less common; it held my interest enough to make me want to continue reading the novel. Even though Douglas Coupland is considered to be the voice of Generation X, many different generations can relate to its content and enjoy his works, both past and future generations. Coupland’s sarcastic way of writing gives the novel a comedic element which makes it more enjoyable to read. I liked his use of imagery, with passages such as â€Å"Tyler†¦you are my trailer park. And you, Anna-Louise, are my tornado.† (31). His sarcasm helped to keep me interested because, in my opinion, every book needs a source of comedy; Coupland’s source is h is ability to make fun of any situation and still keep a serious manner.

Advertising: Influencing Our Youth

Our Youth Ann-smoking commercials and anti-testing and driving campaigns are all over teen television stations. However, behind the scenes, are big name cigarette and alcohol companies targeting youth? Many people see the effect of this targeting, teens drinking and smoking, underage, because it looks glamorous. As a matter of fact advertising may be responsible for nearly 30% of alcohol and tobacco use In young teenagers (Strasbourg). What you don't think about is the cause; what is the reason that these big companies target young teens?Companies target youth for many seasons, but the mall two reasons are accessibility and vulnerability; these targets have a lasting a devastating effect. The celestially ties In to the cause because teens are always on their phones or computer. It is no lie that teens spend hours on their mobile devices a day, always scrolling through twitter, faceable, or playing a game. However, many teenagers have no Idea that big name tobacco and alcohol companie s are strategically placing ads so that they will see them.The average annual number of alcohol ads seen by youth watching television increased from 217 in 2001 to 366 in 2009, approximately one alcohol ad per day (â€Å"Youth Exposure to Alcohol Ads on TV Growing Faster than Adults†). Students will spend about 18,000 hours in front of the television before they graduate (Strasbourg). The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown university has found that between 2001 and 2005, youth exposure to alcohol advertising on television in the U. S. Increased by 41% (â€Å"Alcohol Advertising and Youth†).Alcohol companies spend nearly $2 billion every year on advertising between 2001 and 2007, there were more than 2 million television ads and 20,000 magazine ads for alcoholic products (â€Å"Alcohol Advertising and Youth (Position Paper) APP Policies APP†). Although TV may be an obvious pin-point for marketers, another strategic place for marketing Is in conve nience stores. A 2001 study found that nearly 23 percent of the stores monitored had cigarettes placed within six inches of candy (â€Å"How the Tobacco Industry Targets Youth†).Teenagers see more ads than we think. They see them walking down the street on a billboard. On TV when their show Is on a break, and in magazines. Teenagers not only lots of ads, but the same ones over and ever. Companies don't Just place one ad per television show. They place an ad every commercial break. They may not realize it, but their subconscious mind remembers all the advertising when an opportunity to drink or smoke presents itself. Especially when you add in the repetition factor.Companies are spending loads of money annually to get their product In the eye of the public. However, the placement of their ads is all wrong; they are advertising on channels that teenagers watch and magazines that are read by young adults; such as MET and People Magazine. The accessibility of teenagers combined w ith ad placement and repetition can lead to shaping behavior for when they are adults. Behavior such as alcoholism and Vulnerability is another reason big companies target youth; many teenagers see advertisements featuring their role model or favorite celebrity.Companies use celebrities to promote their product, to seem more relatable to the younger ages, this presents a problem because â€Å"young fans are more likely to try drugs if they see their idol do it† (Brays). However there is a more scientific explanation for teenagers falling for these companies advertisements. A young teen brain's impulse control has not fully developed, however â€Å"its reward circuitry is not only ready to go, it is on overdrive† (Barbarians. Org).This could explain why â€Å"the percentage of teenagers who try an illicit substance more than doubles between 8th and 12th grades, from 21. 4 percent to 48. 2 percent, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse† (Barbarians. Or g). One study found that for each dollar the alcohol industry spends on youth advertising, young people drink 3% more each month. Teens who start drinking and smoking in the early years of their adulthood are more likely to untie these habits for years. Alcohol also impairs Judgment.It can lead teens to put themselves in situations where they are vulnerable; situations like walking home from a party late at night, driving home drunk, or passing out in a crowded area when there are other inebriated teens (â€Å"Understand the Risks of Alcohol to Young People†). Drinking frequently at a young age is also linked to an increased risk of developing alcohol dependence in young adulthood. Regularly drinking in later life can lead to cancer, stroke, heart disease and infertility (â€Å"Understand the Risks of Alcohol to Young People†).The lasting effects on these teens is that binge drinking before the brain is developed changes the brain (Barbarians. Org). A study researched by the APP in 2006 found a direct correlation between the amount of exposure to alcohol advertising on billboards, radio, television, and newspapers with higher levels of drinking and a larger increase in drinking over time with youth 15-26 years old (Alcohol Advertising and Youth). The APP is â€Å"The American Academy of Family Physicians†, the national association of family doctors. It is one of the largest national medical organizations tit more than 115,900 members in 50 states.Ultimately the effect is great, annually, about 5,000 people under age 21 die from alcohol-related injuries involving underage drinking (â€Å"Consequences of Underage Drinking†). Underage drinking can cause a range of physical consequences, from hangovers to death from alcohol poisoning, it also can be linked to smoking. Every day, another 1,500 kids become daily smokers, and one-third of them will die prematurely as a result of getting hooked. Youth who don't smoke very often can suffer t he adverse effects of addiction (â€Å"Health Effects of Tobacco'). 0% of teenagers who smoke daily have tried to quit and failed, about 2/3 of teen smokers say they want to quit smoking (â€Å"Health Effects of Tobacco') . 70% say they would not have started if they could choose again (â€Å"Health Effects of Tobacco'). Many teens subconsciously fall victim to the advertising that companies use to draw them in. Smoking is highly addictive, and for most teens once they start they can't stop. All it takes is one try, and they can get hooked for the rest of their lives; yet another factor that shows teens vulnerability.As for alcohol, it may not be as independent charity that â€Å"provides people with evidence-based information about alcohol and work alongside the medical community' shows some effects of underage drinking (â€Å"About Us†). They show that underage drinking can cause liver failure, stunting brain development, and leading to binge drinking (â€Å"Understand the Risks of Even though teenagers are considered young adults and even some as full adults, their brain is not yet developed fully. Alcohol and tobacco companies target these young, underdeveloped teens to make more sales, when in fact, it is ruining many lives.Even with prevention and parental controls to prevent them from seeing alcohol ads, it is still everywhere, sports games, magazines, billboards. Companies target young kids mainly because of their underdeveloped minds and impulse control. They will be more likely to want to try that product that other potential advertising age groups. The lasting effect of these companies targeting young teens is great, and it causes many problems. Many people don't realize the effect that advertising has on young teens; who are not mentally capable of making knowledgeable decisions..

Group 5 Final Paper Free Range v4 - 2782 Words

Free Range: A Case for International Operations Group 5 Katherine Stone, Michael Williams, Shawn Williams, Horace L. Wynn, Scott Terry AMBA 610 UMUC Part A: Potential Advantages and Shortfalls of Various Globalization Strategies Globalization strategies have been an issue for any organization that intends to increase its international presence. Free Range Foods has decided to grow operations in France, the United Kingdom, and other regions throughout the globe. The recommended strategies Free Range Foods should consider utilizing in order to strengthen its position in the international market are 1) Merger and Acquisition/ Takeover and 2) Strategic Alliances. Both strategies are effective in obtaining an entry into the†¦show more content†¦Producing and maintaining a product is hard enough domestically and is only further compounded with the addition of taking further components into consideration. A major factor that Free Range needs to consider is how they will like to set up their international organization. According to Jones (2013), a multidomestic strategy is defined as one which haswhen you have a corporateion headquarters and establishesdevelop divisions in each country or region where ityou would like to do business in. Authority in these divisions would be given to the managers located in eachthere. The divisions would develop and market products in a way that focuses on the region of the globe they are locatedin (Jones, 2013, p. 464). This is important to consider because what Americans want out of a product can be very different than what Europeans expect out of a product. For example, there are many different types of cheeses available in Europe that are not available in America, so it would be important to understand the culture and expectations of consumers in the country/region where a company doesyou are doing business in. 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