Flourishing in Video Games: The Improvements of Child Development throu

This paper defines human flourishing as living a life of optimal functioning based upon positive productivity. What productivity is, in this sense, is undefined; leading myself to gleam from personal experience what society purports it to be. Common answers involve actions, such as working and social interaction. Self-centered hobbies, such as video games, are often left out, viewed as promoting little towards productivity and its assumed benefits. This produces tension through what is commonly considered to be positively productive towards flourishing, and a growing medium, with children especially, which proposes enjoyment through technological solitude. From this, I wonder if optimal functioning is only attainable through traditional methods of productivity as compared to the passivity gaming is perceived to promote. This paper aims to examine these claims closely in adolescents, for if a large majority turns towards video games as an extracurricular, I write it can be concluded t hat there is an aspect increasing their happiness. The truth of this shall be evaluated in this paper, lending to the larger topic of what promotes psychological happiness and optimal human functioning. Knowledge around the effects of video games produces agreement that games do not always hinder, providing benefits in developmental child growth at some points. Shelley L. Gable and Jonathan Haidt state a need to focus on psychological aspects providing benefits to mental health rather than what detracts (105-107), which I relate to popular views of most games as an unhealthy medium. Cheryl K. Olson fulfills this need, drawing upon research to examine what influences children to play video games, and its positive effects, such as creating self-developme... ...d Consequences. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2006. 363-378. Web. 10 March 2014. Fredrickson, Barbara L. and Michael F. Losada. "Positive Affect and the Complex Dynamics of Human Flourishing." American Psychologist 60.7 (2005): 678-686. Web. 10 Jan. 2014. Gable, Shelley L. and Jonathan Haidt. "What (and Why) Is Positive Psychology?" Review of General Psychology 9.2 (2006): 103-110. Web. 10 Jan. 2014. Li, DongDong, Albert Liau and Angeline Khoo. "Examining the Influence of Actual-Ideal Self-Discrepancies, Depression, and Escapism, on Pathological Gaming Among Massively Multiplayer Online Adolescent Gamers." Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 14.9 (2011): 535-539. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. Olson, Cheryl K. "Children’s Motivations for Video Game Play in the Context of Normal Development ." Review of General Psychology 14.2 (2010): 180-187. 10 March 2014.

Flannery O’Conners “Good Country People” Essay

Love and friendship can make a wonderful story but why not add a twist of mistrust and deceit. That’s what Flannery O’conner did in â€Å"Good Country People.† By doing this she communicated her theme that people aren’t always what them seem. The Irony of the characters and what they symbolize exaggerates the theme very well. The way the characters were developed showed their diversity in â€Å"Good Country People†. Hulga had a degree in philosophy which made her believe that she was smarter than everyone else because she had learned more than they had. But in all actuality she was not, this was proven by the good ol’ bible salesman who was supposed to be honest and good and he was making a living by selling family bibles to country people. He started courting Hulga and when he won her over they met one afternoon for a walk. During this walk both their true colors began to shine through. After being led on a not so unplanned walk through the woods. Hulga was humiliated when the conniving salesman wanted to have sex with her but when she denied him he took her wooden leg. Which showed her to be naive and fragile. Through wooden legs and bibles symbolism comes through strongly. Hulga as a child lost her leg and the doctors gave her a wooden prosthetic leg as a replacement. This wooden leg props up its own symbolism throughout the story as well as it props up Hulga. She believed she needed no help throughout life. With her believe or non-believe rather, she has the notion she needs no family, no God, and no support. But really deep down she needs all of it. The leg physically support’s Hulga her whole life. When she has her wooden leg stolen from her by the bible salesman she realizes she had the support she needed all along, but until now when she loses one sort of support, does she know she needs the others as well. The Bible is also a big symbol in this story. The Holy Bible represents good and truth in the world. The Bible salesman pushes this in his sales pitch, but to him it symbolizes a place where he can keep all his secrets. What’s inside the hollow Bible in his suitcase is what the Bible really symbolizes to him, absolutely nothing. To Him its a place to store his ideas of sex, booze, and porn. Which makes it really something that isn’t as it seems. Which leads to another symbol Hulga herself. After she becomes wise in the ways of the world and does not  believe she needs God, or anyone else anymore. She changes her name of happiness, Joy, to an ugly meaningless name of Hulga. She does this to show to everyone that she does not need the joy or happiness in her life anymore, she has philosophy and education. Irony comes through in many ways especially through the characters. Throughout the story Hulga believes she is more intelligent than the people in her family and town because she went to college and earned a Ph.D. in philosophy. The truth is though she is just as plain and simple as the â€Å"good country people† she is surrounded by. This is proven by the innocent bible salesman, who in all reality is pretty much the Devil. She goes out to seduce the innocent, but in turn she is blind to the fact he is tricking her. They lead each other to a barn where the innocent bible salesman shows his inner most devil by belittling all Hulga’s beliefs and reviling to her she is not better but just as simpleminded and naive as everyone else in her town. Another ironic tidbit is how Joy changed her name to Hulga. It totally highlights the fact she wants nothing to do with her joyful Christian upbringing by her country uneducated family. And not unlike Hulga the bible salesman is also an ironic factor in this story. He is supposed to represent good Christian morals that are taught in church and through the bible. However all he is a thief and a whore with no morals. He is the pentacle of the bad boy scene. He keeps in the Holiest of all books the Bible condoms, a flask of booze and playing cards with naked girls on them. Then to top it off he likes to collect fake body parts he has stolen from girls he has fooled. It its completely not what one would learn from the Bible. Finally Hulga accepts her name of Joy again and hopefully appreciates her family and how good that it can be from time to time to be simple. The salesman isn’t heard from again and life goes on. But after all of the twists and turns of the story â€Å"Good country People† by Flannery O’ Conner, one learns a moral from all the evil and mistrust. Never judge a book by its cover.

Life Sentence, Cruel and Unusual Punishment?

Teenagers are always committing petty crimes, and some are more sever then others. Most of the time when juveniles are charged for crimes, they are sent to Juvenile Hall. But what if the crime requires more com/capital-punishment-and-sensitive-societal-issue/">punishment than that? Some teenagers are committing crimes so sever that they’re being tried as adults and serving life in prison without parole. The Supreme Court is now considering whether this sentence constitutes ‘cruel and unusual’ punishment. Teenagers are always doing something illegal because maybe they think it's cool or they’re not thinking properly or whatever it’ll be. But no matter how extensive the crime, teens shouldn’t be imprisoned their whole lives because of one stupid decision or mistake they made at 15 years old. Hopefully some people grow up and out of their old ways and they regret what they had done. But, unfortunately, that’s not enough. Joe Sullivan. 13 years old. Convicted in 1989 for sexually assaulting a 72-year-old woman. Now at 34, Joe is asking the Supreme Court to decide whether his sentence violates the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment ban on â€Å"cruel and unusual punishmentâ€Å". Joe Sullivan is located in Florida – the state holding the highest number of non-homicidal juvenile lifers: 77. Joe’s crime is cruel and unusual but others could and are way worse. According to the reports from the Equal Justice Initiatives, only 8 people in the world, all in the United States, are serving crimes they committed at 13. Prompted by a quick rise in juvenile crimes in the 1990s, Florida and other states have taken a get-tough approach. Which made the punishment much more sever for their crimes. Rebecca Falcon. 5 years old. Convicted on November 19th, 1997 for shooting and killing a cab driver. That night Rebecca was upset over an ex-boyfriend and because of that, she drank a large amount of whiskey. Later on, she and an 18-year-old friend hopped in a cab and within minutes the driver was dead. To this day, the shooter wasn’t identified, however the gun belonged to her friend. Both had put the blame on each other. Now Rebecca is 27 and highly regrets her decisions from night. Some people do mature over time and not everyone deserves to be entenced for life for a crime they committed as teenagers. 2,500 prisoners in the United States are serving life imprisonment for crimes they did as juveniles. 109 people were sentenced for life for crimes that didn’t involve a homicide. Besides Sullivan’s case, there have been only one other case involving teenagers locked away for rape. But the question is, is it right? Obviously putting them in Juvenile Hall will do nothing seeing how they committed the crime a year or two before they would get out if they were put there. But at the same time, life in prison might not be the best thing either. Putting a 13-year-old in jail and telling them they’ll be there for the rest of their lives is somewhat overwhelming. Young teens are more susceptible to peer pressure and easily run off the straight and narrow by the environment around them. Jail is suppose to serve two purposes: Punishment and rehabilitation. However, if teens are being sent to life without parole, they’re only getting the punishment. Not everyone should be giving parole but no one should be denied a chance at another life.

Social entrepreneurship Research Paper Example

Social entrepreneurship Research Paper Example Social entrepreneurship Paper Social entrepreneurship Paper Dr Yunus who founded Grameen Bank, which helps the people of rural Bangladesh to lift themselves out of poverty, Dr Yunus said, Grameens central focus is to help poor borrowers move out of poverty, not making money. Making profit is always recognised as a necessary condition of success to show that we are covering costs. Volume of profit is not important in Grameen in a money-making sense, but important as an indicator of efficiency. The way in which social entrepreneurs are funded is identified as social enterprise which Alter (2002) defined as a generic term for a non-profit business venture or revenue generating activity founded to create positive social impact while operating with reference to a financial bottom line. Many social entrepreneurs will spend the additional money that they make primarily on the people that they are trying to help and change the social situation and address its issues; secondly they will spend the additional money on advertising to raise public awareness of these social issues. Business entrepreneurs will also spend money on advertising; however this is usually to raise their brand awareness with the public with the ultimate aim to increase sales and to achieve high levels of profit. A similarity between social entrepreneurs and business entrepreneurs would be that they are both commonly accused of being more concerned with the impact and outcomes of their actions rather than the processes involved in making those changes. The pressures of quick results can force social entrepreneurs to look primarily at fixing problems in the short-term which can cause more problems long-term. This can cause social entrepreneurs to overlook any underlying causes of the problem. One example of this can be seen in the work by Mimi Silbert. Mimi started the Delancey Street Foundation, which created a place for substance abusers to be rehabilitated, educated and gave them a place to live. She started this cause in 1971 with a one thousand dollar loan which the aim of helping drug abusers, criminals and the homeless in her local area to make it a better and safer place. This organisation has withstood the test of time and after 36 years it is more successful than ever, receiving more than 10 million dollars in private donations every year. The success of this company is without question, however it makes no attempt to help stop drug abuse and crime problems before they occur, a way in which this could be done would be through campaigning and educating the younger population about the dangers of drugs. These are seen as the underlying causes which lead to problems such as drug abuse, crime and homelessness, Mimi Silberts work helps all individuals after they have already developed these problems. Many entrepreneurs, both business and social often have results which they did not intend, these results can sometimes make it very difficult to define whether and entrepreneur is business or social, for example, a business entrepreneur can start their business with the aim of making profits but their work causes a beneficial change in society. This person intended to become a business entrepreneur but unintentionally converged into a social entrepreneur. The same can be said for social entrepreneurs who have an original aim to address social issues, if they then become highly successful in their efforts it is very likely that they will start to make a profit linking them with business entrepreneurs. Another similarity between business entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs are the way that they are perceived by the general public. Entrepreneurs of all types are usually associated with high levels of success; this is generally because the individuals behind companies are not heard of unless their business or social movement has become successful. This links in with the idea of entrepreneurs being all the same but different from normal people. As most entrepreneurs are only known publicly when they are successful they are related with certain personality types and characteristic traits, which make them successful when really anybody can become and entrepreneur in theory. A key difference between business and social entrepreneurs would be their different views on the concept of wealth. To a business entrepreneur wealth and profits would generally be classed as the same thing, this is because their main aim is to make money therefore they consider themselves to be wealthy is their business is successful and profit margins are high. Social entrepreneurs on the other hand classify wealth in a completely different manner. Social entrepreneurs class wealth in their work as creating a substantial and beneficial change to society which can be sustained over a long period of time. Social entrepreneurs class their wealth as an indicator of how much they of their work has been beneficial to the society. This also includes that any profits a social entrepreneur does manage to make has a positive Social and/or Environmental return on investment (ROI), this means that the profits are re-invested into the economy and to help more people, this is done because social entrepreneurs usually decide to help people due to an ethical imperative.

Radium Facts and Chemical and Physical Properties

Radium Facts and Chemical and Physical Properties Atomic Number: 88 Symbol: Ra Atomic Weight: 226.0254 Electron Configuration: [Rn] 7s2 Word Origin: Latin radius: ray Element Classification: alkaline earth metal Discovery It was discovered by Pierre and Marie Curie in 1898 (France/Poland). It was isolated in 1911 by Mme. Curie and Debierne. Isotopes Sixteen isotopes of radium are known. The most common isotope is Ra-226, which has a half-life of 1620 years. Properties Radium is an alkaline earth metal. Radium has a melting point of 700Â °C, boiling point of 1140Â °C, specific gravity estimated to be 5, and valence of 2. Pure radium metal is bright white when freshly prepared, although it blackens upon exposure to air. The element decomposes in water. It is somewhat more volatile than the element barium. Radium and its salts exhibit luminescence and impart a carmine color to flame. Radium emits alpha, beta, and gamma rays. It produces neutrons when mixed with beryllium. A single gram of Ra-226 decays at the rate of 3.7x1010 disintegrations per second. [The curie (Ci) is defined to be the quantity of radioactivity which has the same rate of disintegration as 1 gram of Ra-226.] A gram of radium produces around 0.0001 ml (STP) of radon gas (emanation) per day and about 1000 calories per year. Radium loses about 1% of its activity over 25 years, with lead as its final disintegration product. Radium is a radiological hazard. Stored radium requires ven tilation to prevent the build-up of radon gas. Uses Radium has been used to produce neutron sources, luminous paints, and medical radioisotopes. Sources Radium was discovered in pitchblende or uraninite. Radium is found in all uranium minerals. There is approximately 1 gram of radium for each 7 tons of pitchblende. Radium was first isolated by electrolysis of a radium chloride solution, using a mercury cathode. The resulting amalgam yielded pure radium metal upon distillation in hydrogen. Radium is commercially obtained as its chloride or bromide and tends not to be purified as an element. Physical Data Density (g/cc): (5.5) Melting Point (K): 973 Boiling Point (K): 1413 Appearance: silvery white, radioactive element Atomic Volume (cc/mol): 45.0 Ionic Radius: 143 (2e) Specific Heat (20Â °C J/g mol): 0.120 Fusion Heat (kJ/mol): (9.6) Evaporation Heat (kJ/mol): (113) Pauling Negativity Number: 0.9 First Ionizing Energy (kJ/mol): 509.0 Oxidation States: 2 Sources CRC Handbook of Chemistry Physics, 18th Ed.Crescent Chemical Company, 2001.Langes Handbook of Chemistry, 1952.Los Alamos National Laboratory, 2001.

The significance of a designed product (Product Design) Essay

The significance of a designed product (Product Design) - Essay Example Normally, product designing is being carried out by engineers and highly-skilled designers and usually engages with the people in the marketing, business, or even in military in order to gather inputs that would help build the physical product. Product design is a component of a much comprehensive term called â€Å"product development†, which comprises the creation or organization of the product requisites, the basic idea of the product, and product evaluation. Product has long been resorted to as a means of systematically creating a physical product. As a matter of fact, it is being employed during the earlier eras to help plan the overall design and functions of artifacts. The significance of a designed product can be dated back as to the Mozambique period or even earlier. Thus, there is a rich historical importance the ties up product design and artifacts together. Today, the influence of product design has thrived even more. Product design is widely used in STEM fields, es pecially in the natural sciences and engineering. Today, many technology companies around the world are investing huge amounts in product design in order for them to increase their value in the market (Chitale and Gupta 2005). They are also using product design to influence or indirectly manipulate revenues. However, this revenue-focused design is largely applicable to computer products and not significantly on artifacts. This paper focuses on the significance of product design or designed product in the creation of artifacts. In particular, we will focus on a piece of furniture known as the â€Å"Throne of the Weapons† – an influential design made to order by Bishop Dinis Sengulane of the Christian Council of Mozambique, and was designed and created by Kester. Thus, the â€Å"Throne of the Weapons† is also called â€Å"The Kester’s Chair.† We will look at the nooks and crannies of the design of this amazing piece of artifact and draw inferences an d insights on how product design helped work out the entirety of the product. History of the â€Å"Throne of the Weapons† The â€Å"Throne of the Weapons† is a piece of artifact built by Kester from abandoned firearms. He created the sculpture by attaching different types of firearms together. Since 2002, the sculpture is under the care of the British Museum. Many considers it as the British Museum’s most expressive piece of art judging from the perspective that the object has been presented in a more extensive myriad of ways than any other piece of artifact (BBC 2013). The majority of the sculpture’s composition is composed of decommissioned weapons from the Mozambique Civil war that took place between 1977 and 1992 (BBC 2013 2013). Just for a historical background, the Mozambique War killed nearly a million lives and internally dislocated 5 million people. Thus, in essence, apart from its form is the significance of its historical background: the sculpt ure resembles both the unnatural catastrophe of the war and the victory of the people. The

Airports Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Airports - Research Paper Example The terrorists have started to believe that they can fulfill their objectives by ransacking property within the airports and by making people hostage due to the element of terror that comes to their rescue. What is even significant is the fact that they feel terrorism can turn the tide their way and make their unsuccessful attempts at propagating a message change into successful ones. The menace at airports is not just limited to the terrorism domains alone. These have also included the peril of smuggled goods and items across the shores. This is an element that demands a great deal of attention by the people who are behind such rackets. The airports are therefore the places where the terrorists find the best spot to make sure that the people remain under the subjugation of their objectives and goals (Alvarenga, 2011). Smuggling has been much talked about in the recent times and even the media has spoken about this subject in entirety. What this has implicated for is the fact that sm uggling can create bottlenecks for the government of the land, and thus could create anarchy of sorts. The role of the government under such considerations remains an important one.